The Gardner Policy Institute provides data-driven, context-specific insights about Utah’s economy. We prepare in-depth studies on key Utah issues in partnership with stakeholders in the private sector and state and local government. The institute employs a diverse group of economists and analysts with specialties that include healthcare, energy and natural resources, tourism, and real estate and construction. Our research provides vital information decision makers and the public use to help Utah prosper.
Housing, Construction, & Real Estate
Ivory-Boyer First Quarter Report 2018
The value of all permit authorized construction in Utah during the first quarter of 2018 was $2 billion. This is a 7.5 percent increase from first quarter 2017. This rise was led by an increase in residential construction which represented 64 percent of total construction value this quarter. Overall, construction values rose after two consecutive quarterly declines in 2017.
The State of Utah’s Travel and Tourism Industry, 2018
Utah’s diverse travel and tourism industry generates jobs and income for Utah residents and produces tax revenue for state and local governments. Domestic and international visitors are drawn to Utah’s natural, cultural, and historical assets. Utah has 14 ski resorts, 10 of which are less than an hour from Salt Lake City International Airport, as well as five national parks, 11 national monuments, two [...]
CEOutlook Surveys
The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute has partnered with the Salt Lake Chamber to create CEOutlook, an economic confidence index informed by Utah’s leading business executives. The index is created by surveying these executives every quarter to “gauge the economic pulse of Utah’s business community.” The survey research team assists the chamber in this endeavor with survey design and management, methodology, and data management.
May 2018 Economic Summary
The Utah economy remains healthy. Every major industrial sector expanded in 2017, contributing a total of 43,500 new jobs over the year. An annual employment growth rate of 3.1% is on par with the state’s long-term average and is among the strongest in the nation. In 2017, Utah’s construction sector posted the highest job growth with 5.4%.
Fact Sheet: U.S. Census Bureau Estimates for Incorporated Places and Housing Units, 2017
Each year, the Census Bureau produces population estimates at varying levels of geography. They have already released national, state, county, and metropolitan/micropolitan estimates for the 2017 vintage. This most recent release included annual population estimates for both incorporated places (cities and towns) as well as housing unit estimates at the state and county level from Census 2010 to July 1, 2017. Townships or other [...]
