Recent Research
Recently Published
The most recent research published by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute
Utah Travel & Tourism County Profiles, 2019
Visitor spending generated $336.9 million in direct tax revenue, including $191.9 million in state and $145.0 million in local tax revenue. Visitor spending generated approximately $111.5 million in additional indirect and induced state and local tax revenue, for a total of $448.4 million.
February 2021 Utah Consumer Confidence
Our survey shows an increase in consumer sentiment among Utahns between January and February 2021. This increase is driven by sharp gains in sentiment among females, those with college degrees, and particularly females with college degrees. A similar survey by the University of Michigan concerning all Americans finds sentiment fell during the same time period.
U.S. Census Bureau 2015-2019 5-Year American Community Survey Estimates
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides information on communities’ social, demographic, and economic characteristics. The ACS began in 2008 and replaced the Census Long Form in 2010. Each year, the Census Bureau provides a new update to both the 1 and 5-Year Estimates.
2021 Utah Economic Report
Utah’s decade long expansion, the longest on record, ended in 2020 with the emergence of COVID-19. The public health crisis presented the greatest challenge to the Utah economy since the Great Recession.
2021 Economic Report to the Governor (Highlights)
Utah’s decade long expansion, the longest on record, ended in 2020 with the emergence of COVID-19. The public health crisis presented the greatest challenge to the Utah economy since the Great Recession. In the early spring, the forecast for 2020 was bleak as the unemployment rate in April climbed to roughly 10%. But as the year unfolded, the resiliency of the Utah economy was on full display. By November, Utah’s year-over employment was down only 0.2%, the smallest employment decline of any state, and the unemployment rate had dropped to 4.3%. Nationwide employment was down by 6.0%, and the unemployment [...]
Utah Informed: Visual Intellection for 2021
"You may not be interested in the virus, but the virus is interested in you.” This modified Leo Tolstoy quote summarizes much of 2020 and the start of 2021. COVID-19 came seemingly from out of nowhere and impacted every facet of our lives, livelihoods, and lifestyles.
2021 Economic Report to the Governor
The Utah Economic Report to the Governor serves as the preeminent source for data, research, and analysis about the Utah economy. This 2021 version marks 33 consecutive years of publication. The report provides timely and relevant data and analysis about economic indicators, as well as a focus on critical industries in the state of Utah. The improved economic understanding and literacy helps decision-makers make economically informed decisions and helps Utah to prosper.
The COVID-19 Economic Risk Index
Notwithstanding having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country under COVID-19, unemployment in Utah since the beginning of the pandemic has been stark. In only six weeks, Utah’s unemployment rate jumped from a historic low of 2.5% to a historic high of 10.4%,1 with Utah residents filing over 130,000 unemployment insurance claims from mid-March through April.
COVID-19’s Impacts on Utah’s Oil & Gas Industry
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the oil and gas sector was caught unprepared for the global shock of diminished energy demand by shelter-in-place and stay-at-home policies. At the same time, two OPEC+ members battling for market share oversupplied global energy markets, creating an unanticipated energy supply shock and sending crude oil prices into a tailspin. These combined shocks threatened the viability of oil and gas companies lacking the robust balance sheets needed to remain solvent until normal market conditions return.
