Manufacturing employment in Utah improving

After suffering two recessions resulting in decreased employment since 2000, Utah’s manufacturing industry has improved since 2010 and is projected to continue its growth into 2013. Manufacturing employment peaked in 2007, but the recession led to three years of declining employment. The 2013 growth rate from 2012 is forecasted to be 0.9 percent, placing employment at 90.6 percent of the 2007 peak. Turnaround from the most recent recession has been slower than the relatively quick recovery earlier in the decade.

The largest share of Utah manufacturing employment is in miscellaneous manufacturing which includes production of medical equipment and supplies, jewelry, sporting goods, toys, office supplies and other products that cannot readily be classified in specific subsectors in manufacturing. Other top subsectors in terms of manufacturing employment share in Utah are food manufacturing and computer/electronic product manufacturing. Compared to the national average, these two subsectors have a high concentration of employment in the state, revealed through an analysis of location quotients. These quotients measure the rate of concentration of an industry’s employment in Utah compared to the U.S. average. High location quotients imply that food manufacturing and computer/electronic product manufacturing are export-oriented industries with more of their products being consumed outside of Utah. In fact, these subsectors produce the state’s second and fourth largest exports to the U.S. in terms of value, electronic integrated circuits and food preparations, respectively, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

To read the entire article, click here.