Utah’s recovery indicates relative strength, 'though headwinds remain'

The Salt Lake Chamber has updated its Roadmap to Prosperity Dashboard for October. The tool, published in partnership with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, distributes current economic news, this month highlighting Utah’s job growth, a dip in consumer confidence and a jobless claim rate that is below 2019 numbers.

“Utah’s economic recovery continues on pace to be one of the best in the nation with two bright spots in construction and professional and business services,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance. “While consumer confidence took a small dip, this was expected with the uptick in delta variant coronavirus cases. The lingering challenge tempers our progress, but broad labor participation coupled with job growth leading the nation forecasts continued strength on our road back to inclusive prosperity. Utah continues to be the gold standard when it comes to collaboration, resilience, and broad industry sector strength.”

Three insights from the October dashboard in Roadmap to Prosperity Dashboard include:

1. Utah’s two-year job growth is highest in the nation. Utah’s August two-year job growth of 3.5 percent is the highest in the nation and one of only three states showing positive job change.

2. Consumer confidence falls. Consumer confidence climbed steadily from October 2020 to April 2021. For the past few months, consumer confidence has fallen, with August declining to the lowest level since the measure began in October 2020.

3. Unemployment claims drop below 2019 average. Utah’s August weekly continued unemployment claims ranged between 7,800 and 8,700, all below the 2019 average of 8,856.

The dashboard is updated consistently, providing essential insights, tracking 10 timely and leading measures and sharing pertinent indicators since the start of the pandemic. This provides leaders with critical and timely information to make informed decisions, the chamber said.

“While we continue to see mostly positive trends for Utah’s economy, this report shows we must still monitor the coronavirus variants as major risk factors to our growth and the stabilization of our economic trajectory,” said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. “The decline in consumer confidence, as well as tight labor markets, continue to be areas of concern. Despite the uptick in delta variant cases, however, the aggregation of strength continues to build with some sectors’ growth outstripping others, but the effects of positive spillover remain.”

The Roadmap to Prosperity Coalition is a business-led coalition, supported by the Salt Lake Chamber, focused on implementing and promoting economic recovery. The coalition is co-chaired by Mikelle Moore, senior vice president and chief community health officer at Intermountain Healthcare; and Scott Parson, CEO of Staker Parson Materials & Construction. Investors of the coalition include Mountain America Credit Union, WCF Insurance, Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation, Deseret Management Corp., Intermountain Healthcare, Staker Parson and Rio Tinto Kennecott.

The Roadmap to Prosperity Dashboard can be found at https://slchamber.com/resources/roadmap-dashboard/.