Annual Profiles

The Workforce Research and Analysis division has updated information in the county Annual Profiles.

The information available in these Annual Profiles are separated by county and state and include:

• quick facts
• nonfarm employment
• unemployment
• major employers
• population
• demographics
• income and wages
• construction
• gross taxable sales
• county rankings

This data is updated on an annual basis, and dates can be found at the bottom of each tab. To print any of the visualizations, see the instructions here. For more information about this data, contact your regional economist.

New County Pages

See our new County Pages (including statewide) each with their own URL for easy bookmarking. Find labor market information that has been divided into counties and regions for a quick look at each area.

Also find a new look for the Current Economic Snapshots. These are economic snapshots are a two-page look at the current information for labor force, sales, building and unemployment insurance for each county in Utah, and are updated monthly after the Employment Situation.

These can be accessed on the Utah Economic Data page or on the Labor Market page under the "County Snapshots" link.

Challenges of Homeownership for the Young

Utah has the nation’s youngest population, therefore it probably has one of the higher percentages of young people who are trying to become homeowners. Utah needs its young people to be looking toward and being aggressive in a pursuit of homeownership. The construction industry is much dependent upon the population’s desire for additional homes in Utah. This article points to many of the challenges that young homeowners face in the wake of the recent economic downturn.

U.S. News and World Report

 “One impact of the housing crisis and the Great Recession was a significant decline in the national homeownership rate. Falling from 69.2 percent in the middle of 2004, the homeownership rate stands at 65 percent as of the second quarter of 2013 according to Census data. However, the decline in homeownership is particularly concentrated among younger households. This fact presents distinct public policy and economic challenges, particularly with respect to tax and finance rules that govern the cost of buying a home with a mortgage.” Read more

Utah economy continues growth, transportation investment key

Utah's growing in more ways than one. We have one of the fastest growing populations in the country and that is both a tremendous opportunity and tremendous challenge. You may have hear the phrase, "if you build it, they will come." Well, in Utah it's more like, "they're coming, so you better build it." With the state's population set to double by 2040, we need continued investment in our transportation infrastructure to keep the wheels of commerce turning.

The Salt Lake Chamber's Utah Transportation Coalition recently commissioned a study showing that Utah will see a significant payoff from continued investment in transportation. Salt Lake Chamber

Economic Benefits and Impacts of Utah’s Unified Plan

Salt Lake Chamber Executive Summary

Related: Utah lawmakers passed a law expanding 80 mph zones on Utah freeways. Utah started testing higher speed limits in southern Utah in 2008. Lawmakers expanded that this year to portions of Interstates 15, 80 and 84 on outlying areas of the state. UDOT spokesman John Gleason told The Salt Lake Tribune that those zones won't start to appear until August. Bloomberg Businessweek

Study shows economic development value of historic preservation

Preserving historic buildings and sites creates jobs and increases property values, according to a study released Monday by the Utah Heritage Foundation.

The study, conducted by Washington, D.C., real estate and economic development consulting firm PlaceEconomics, found that 7,313 jobs were created annually directly or indirectly by the heritage portion of Utah’s tourism industry. In addition, 4,969 total jobs were created between 1990 and 2012 using federal or state historic tax credits, according to the report.

Sixty-two heritage sites and events were visited and evaluated between November 2012 and June of this year for the study. Based on 2012 data, those sites attracted more than 7.2 million visitors annually and show visitors spending nearly $400 million a year.

Using data from an econometric model called Implan, the study indicates that for every $1 million invested in rehabilitating historic buildings in Utah, 17.7 direct and indirect jobs are created, resulting in $850,554 in direct and indirect salary and wages. The $1 million also generates almost $100,000 in economic activity elsewhere in the economy, as well as $34,217 in state sales tax and indirect business tax, according to the study.

Utah Heritage Foundation executive director Kirk Huffaker said the complete 24-page report will be available next month. Deseret News

More Dunkin’ Donuts locations announced for Wasatch Front

Sizzling Platter, which plans to open Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants along the Wasatch Front and points north in the next five years, has announced locations for seven more stores and revealed that it eventually will operate 23 sites, up from 16.

The new locations are in addition to its first Dunkin’ Donuts in Utah, which was announced earlier this year and is set to open June 25 at 217 E. 400 South in Salt Lake City.

Murray-based Sizzling Platter said leases have been signed for stores in Salt Lake County, Bountiful and Ogden. Some will open by the end of the year, the others in 2014, said Gary Shatswell, vice president of marketing for Sizzling Platter LLC, a restaurant-management company.

Along with the sites that have been announced, Sizzling Platter also is in negotiations for additional stores in the state, said Mitch Lowe, the company’s general council and vice president of development. The original agreement included 16 restaurants in Utah, but negotiations have increased the number of stores to 23, said Lowe. Salt Lake Tribune

Industry making its way back to Southern Utah

Crews are finishing work on the 800,000-square-foot Family Dollar distribution center, an $80 million project expected to open operations this summer. The Family Dollar facility has been touted as bringing in 350 much-needed jobs to Washington County, along with the ancillary benefits that come from having such a large operation.

In addition, local firms that measure the manufacturing industry are seeing a steady decrease in vacancy rates on industrial properties. The rates are back below 10 percent after hovering in double digits for several years according to NAI Southern Utah.

 In Iron County, vacancy rates are still much higher, at 24.6 percent, according to NAI’s research, but rates have improved for spaces less than 20,000 square feet and lease rates are ticking up slightly as well, indicating that things may be trending positively. The Spectrum

Protecting Hill Air Force Base — Utah style

Many in Davis and Weber Counties are closely watching the budget drama playing out in Washington, D.C. and the clock ticking down on the automatic spending cuts that could deeply impact Hill Air Force Base.

The base is the sixth-largest employer in the state and the largest single site employer with 22,000 employees, of which 63 percent are civilian employees. The impact to the state’s economy from the base is huge, $3 billion, and obviously that impact is felt mostly in Davis and Weber counties.

As a state, our hands are tied when it comes to the federal funds that support the base. There isn’t much we can do to protect Hill AFB from federal budget cuts except to urge our leaders in Washington to take responsible budget actions. However, together with my legislative colleagues from Weber and Davis counties, we are taking action to make Hill AFB as attractive and viable as possible by making it a center for aerospace technology. We can’t control the federal funds that go directly to the base, but we can enhance the supporting infrastructure surrounding the base that gives it technological synergy and relevance.

Unlike other states, Hill AFB is surrounded by supportive communities and has tremendous state support. One of the important local projects is the Falcon Hill development. Falcon Hill National Aerospace Research Park is the Air Force’s largest enhanced use lease office park project. This project allows the Air Force to take underutilized land and lease it to a developer offering general public accessibility. Over the past six years in support of this development, the state has funded over $18.7 million in transportation and infrastructure upgrades. We are working to appropriate additional funds this year for redevelopment projects at the North Gate.


A significant portion of the Falcon Hill land contains World War II area storage buildings that over time were converted into offices buildings. After 70 years of use the buildings now pose maintenance, energy, parking and safety problems. They needed to be replaced, but because of budget constraints, the Air Force prioritized runways and hangers, not office buildings.

By leasing this underutilized land to a commercial developer, the Air Force receives revenues it can use to construct new or, repair and maintain other aging infrastructure on Hill AFB. Plus, such commercial buildings on federal land are subject to property tax. These buildings house commercial businesses that generate other tax revenues and add to Northern Utah’s economic growth and job opportunities.

Today, Falcon Hill has its first commercial office building housing the ICBM support contractor’s workforce and meets all the latest anti-terrorism force protection standards and design features. This is the first building of a future complex of five government and commercial facilities that brings together the Air Force and its support contractor side by side.

The state and local communities were able to partner and support this project by helping fund the road construction necessary to access the new commercial space. Particularly at the West Gate entrance to the base, the state’s support has been critical. Not only has the base received a new structure that incorporates the latest threat protection features, its new location allowed for transportation improvements to Northern Utah. Early morning backups onto the freeway no longer happen, with the resulting elimination of a serious transportation safety issue.

This development is a model for the rest of the country because it ensures even greater focus of resources in the future. A large component of the activities on the base is in high technology. We can do more than just protect the existing jobs at Hill AFB, we can grow new opportunities around the base that put the future of Hill AFB; and the related jobs in our hands instead of the federal governments. Standard Examiner

Winter 2012/2013 Trendlines issue available on the Web

This issue features Looking Forward to 2013, and includes how Utah's economy fared in 2012, plus a look at the Construction and Manufacturing industries.

Check out the web issue here.

Like to subscribe to a hard copy? Contact us at greidling@utah.gov or call 801-526-9785.

To get notifications when future issues become available, just fill out your email address here, and choose the items that interest you.

U.S. Homebuilder Confidence at 6 1/2-year High

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders inched up this month, to the highest level in more than six and a half years, as builders reported the best market for newly built homes since the housing boom.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday increased 2 points to 47 from a revised 45 in November. That’s the highest reading since April 2006, just before the housing bubble burst.

Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment about the housing market. The last time the index was at or above that level was in April 2006, with a reading of 51. It has been trending higher since October 2011, when it stood at 17.

The latest index, which is based on responses from 441 builders, reflects growing optimism that a turnaround in housing will endure after years of stagnation.

However, the index tracking builders’ outlook for sales over the next six months slipped 1 point to 51, back to where it was two months ago.

More people have started looking to buy homes, encouraged by a gradually improving economy, a steady rise in home values and mortgage rates that have been low all year. At the same time, the inventory of previously occupied homes available for sale has fallen sharply, reducing the competition for newly built homes.

Sales of new homes fell slightly last month, dragged lower by steep declines in the Northeast partly related to Superstorm Sandy. But they were still 17 percent higher in October than the same month a year ago.
Builders are locking up more land and ramping up construction. All told, builders broke ground on new homes and apartments in October at the fastest pace in more than four years. Salt Lake Tribune

Projections Show Promising Job Fields in Utah

With Utah’s employment growth currently running at 2.3 percent, the outlook for the remainder of this decade looks slightly better; averaging about 2.4 percent per year. The national employment growth rate is at 1.4 percent.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services has released new occupational projections that are summarized in the Fall 2012 publication of Trendlines. Some highlights in the report:

• Healthcare-related occupations continue to lead the way. Of note, however, is the fact that many of these expanding jobs are in the support area, which typically pays lower-than-average wages.
• Occupations in computer-related fields still provide good employment opportunities and wages.
• Construction and mining areas indicate strong growth rates.
• Even declining occupations will have job openings due to the need to replace retiring workers.
• Approximately 20 percent of jobs in 2020 will require at least a bachelor’s degree, representing the fastest growth category for the remainder of this decade.
• Production, transportation/material moving and installation/maintenance/repair occupations should also have continued growth.

DWS also provides occupational information using a “star” system, rating each occupation from zero to five stars. The ratings take into consideration employment outlook as well as wages. Five stars represent the strongest employment outlook and high wages, with zero stars representing limited employment outlook and low wages. This information can be found at http://jobs.utah.gov/ under “Labor Market Information.” http://jobs.utah.gov/wi/.

These occupational projections can be valuable for those making career decisions as well as for educational and training institutions as they do their best to prepare students for good jobs with good pay.

With Hostess announcing its closing, 650 Utah workers will be looking for work, as companies such as Lofthouse and several other large commercial bakeries are accepting applications. For those displaced workers wishing to change occupations, the occupational projection information provided at DWS can be extremely valuable.

The Ogden-Weber Tech College continues to offer training in business and information technology, construction, healthcare, manufacturing and service occupations.

For military veterans, it is noteworthy that The Military Times ranked the Ogden-Weber Tech College number 16 in the nation as “Best for Vets” in a review of colleges.

The Ogden-Weber Tech College also provides customized training for employers to upgrade the skills of their workers in order to remain current with new technologies and business practices.

While the recent recession significantly hurt employment growth, the outlook for the remainder of this decade, especially here in Utah, looks promising. Standard Examiner

Construction Industry Still Looking for the Upswing

Despite hopes the industry would be looking up, construction companies are still trying to hold on and wait for an economic bounce back, according to a group of construction executives at Utah Business magazine’s roundtable Tuesday morning.

Many are also worried that the long-term depression in construction is has reduced interest in construction jobs and companies will face a future shortage of workers and an experience gap in leadership.

“While there is some work out there, is there enough? Several years ago, in 2008 and 2009, we had about $1.5 billion of work in the building industry that we could go after. Now we’re down to about $586 million and we’re still the same guys around the table going after that work,” said Rob Moore, president of Big-D.
Paul Campbell, Wheeler Machinery vice president, said that lack of upward movement is reflected in the equipment side. Companies are simply replacing equipment, not expanding the fleet, and more people are renting rather than buying.

The overall feeling is flat, said Dale Campbell, R&O Construction president. “There are ups and downs throughout the year and there’s a little excitement, but then the project gets put on hold or something happens and the excitement dies,” he said.

The residential market is improving, but is still only about a third of what it was at the height of the market, said Jason Kilgore, president of Kilgore Companies. The subdivision side of residential is still a little worse than everything else. While he said news that the sector is improving is true, “30 or 40 percent of nothing is still nothing.”

In the meantime, companies at the table were finding work wherever possible, in jobs like renovations, medical facilities, or food and distribution facilities.

Another concern is a “lost generation,” said Jeff Beecher, Layton Construction executive vice president. Several years ago, there was high demand for people coming into the industry, but now not as many are looking into construction as a career. When business does pick back up, Beecher said he is worried that there will not be the same supply of qualified people.

Other attendees expressed concern that with fewer and lower-budget projects, the younger people in the company haven’t had the same opportunities to learn and grow into leadership roles that other employees are getting ready to retire from.

Moore said many people don’t realize construction still pays 7 percent more on average than other private sector jobs in Utah. The industry needs to do a better job of helping people understand that, he said, so they will have a steady supply of qualified employees. Utah Business

New Housing Construction Projected to Expand in 2013

As a leading economic indicator, residential investment can signal when the economy is about to slide into a recession and when the economy is returning to normal after a downturn. Beyond being merely an indicator, investment in residential construction has traditionally played a crucial role in stimulating growth after a recession. While the Great Recession was the result of a large number of interrelated factors, one explanation for its extended duration is that the devastated housing market has shown virtually no sign of improvement. From the beginning of 2006 through the end of 2008, new single-family home sales declined steadily reducing the volume of sales to one third of its former size. Over the three years from 2009 through 2011, new residential sales held constant, but showed no signs of growth. The absence of this important catalyst of economic growth offers at least a partial explanation for the very slow rate at which the nation has been recovering from the Great Recession.

In 2012, the new residential housing market started showing signs of growth. Fannie Mae has projected that by the end of 2013, new single-family home sales should approach an annual rate of nearly half a million. That’s good news for Utah. As the health of all state economies are tied to the health of the national economy, the recovery of the new residential housing market nationally bodes well for the future economic growth of the State of Utah.

Utah’s Black Diamond is Manufacturing Skis in China

Holladay-based Black Diamond, Inc. has opened a ski manufacturing factory at its Asian operations in Zhuhai, China.

The 43,000-square-foot factory is producing samples of the 2013-14 line of Black Diamond skis for use in company sales pitches that emphasize how new manufacturing processes enhance performance and quality control.

"Our decision to bring Black Diamond’s ski manufacturing in-house represents a significant expansion of our manufacturing footprint, and demonstrates our commitment to the category and passion for the sports we serve," Peter Metcalf, Black Diamond’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

He said Black Diamond manufactures about one-third of its proprietary products in-house. "So we are confident in our capabilities," Metcalf added. "Ski manufacturing will allow us to be more responsive to our customers, while maintaining a competitive pricing position."

Black Diamond Equipment Asia was established as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2006. It has about 200 employees, the company said. Salt Lake Tribune

Concordis plans to acquire an undisclosed domestic insurance firm

Concordis Group, a provider of business insurance services, is planning to procure an undisclosed domestic insurance company and is currently in the process of signing a letter of intent.

As previously announced on 4 October 2012, Concordis Group CEO Thomas Blake is expected to sign the letter within the next few days.

Based out of Utah, the property and casualty insurance company provides construction insurance through its subsidiaries in four states and receives between 11-12 million in premiums.

The company provides business insurance services through its two wholly own subsidiaries, Concordis Insurance SPC (CISPC) and Concordis Capital (CCI).

CISPC provides structuring and managing alternative risk management solutions for mid-market companies, while CCI provides captive cell funding for CISPC and other businesses and organizations. Intermediaries Brokerage

New three million gallon water tank nears completion

A new three million gallon water storage tank at the mouth of Ashley Gorge is nearing completion after almost two years in construction.

It’s a $2.94 million project of the Ashley Valley Water and Sewer Improvement District with funding from the Permanent Community Impact Board as well as the district.

The facility will provide the pressure a growing community needs and also, “make it easier to treat the water away from the treatment plant and still keep up with the water supply,” said Dave Hatch, district manager. Vernal Express

Industry Projections and Employment Concentration

Projections for Utah’s industry supersectors employment from 2010 to 2020 and the concentration of the state’s workforce by industry sector are shown in the accompanying table. The fastest growing sector is projected to be construction, but as this article points out, the expansion will only be a recovery of loss from the Great Recession, not new growth. In fact, even with the high rate of growth, this industry is not expected to fully recover from the recession to return to its 2007 peak level within this decade.

The slowest growing sector is projected to be government, which includes federal, state, and local but not education or health care. The education/health services sector, on the other hand, expects a high rate of growth during the decade and also had the highest concentration of the state’s employment in 2010. While a large proportion of the state’s workforce is employed in trade/transportation/utilities, this sector has a relatively low projected growth rate.

Job seekers can use this information to make well-informed career decisions that can better ensure favorable outcomes.  In addition to industry projections, the Department of Workforce Services compiles economic and labor market information resources which can be accessed here.

Industry Supersector	Projected 2010-2020 Growth Rate	Utah Employment Concentration By Industry In 2010
Construction	3.51%	5.13%
Professional and business services	2.98%	11.96%
Education and health services	2.72%	19.41%
Self-employed and unpaid family worker	2.17%	7.15%
Financial activities	2.13%	5.34%
Natural resources and mining	2.10%	2.28%
Leisure and hospitality	1.74%	8.69%
Other services	1.63%	2.93%
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1.58%	18.43%
Manufacturing	1.45%	8.72%
Information	1.39%	2.30%
Government	1.15%	7.65%
Source: Department of Workforce Services

Big-D Construction Selected As 2012 Contractor Of The Year By ENR Mountain States

Big-D Construction (www.big-d.com) has been selected by ENR Mountain States as the 2012 Contractor of the Year. Up from a #6 ranking in 2011, Big-D was also ranked #1 in the following sectors:

• Utah Building
• Green Building
• Commercial
• Distribution & Warehouse
• Government Service Buildings
• Religious and Cultural Facilities
• General Building

In addition, Big-D was listed in the Top 3 in the Idaho Building and Educational sectors.

This achievement for Big-D comes on the heels of also being selected as the 2012 "Best of State" award winner for Commercial Construction. This is Big-D's third year being named Best of State, which is an awards program created in the state of Utah to recognize outstanding individuals, organizations and businesses. Herald Online

Utah January to May 2012 Construction Permitting Activity Update

Five months of 2012 construction permitting data are now available from the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. Until at least six months of permitting data are available, the figures are subject to notable changes (construction data tends to be among the most erratic economic indicators). Statewide, January to May 2012 home permits bounced up 31 percent compared with the same time frame last year. In addition, new nonresidential permit values are up 23 percent year-to-year. As you look at this data, remember that permitted-values change rapidly—particularly when it comes to commercial building and these early figures may be reflect large percent changes which will evaporate as more permitting occurs. Here are a few other interesting points from this data release: 

• Rapid employment expansion in the oil and gas fields of the Uintah Basin seems to be spurring new the highest home demands from workers. Uintah County showed the most rapid expansion in new home permits.
  
• Among metropolitan counties, Davis County, Cache and Washington counties show the only home-permit increases.
  
• Washington County’s permits are up 32 percent from last year—its best performance since the recent housing bubble collapsed.
  
• On the nonresidential side, new projects in the eastern/Uintah Basin portion of the state are driving large gains in permit values. Morgan, Summit, Sevier, Juan, Garfield, and Box Elder counties also showed strong residential permitting gains. 

For detailed construction permit data, click here.

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Thoughts on the Utah Economy – Trendlines Article

It looks like the Utah economy may get some help from the new home building market this year, although it will be modest. Approved home building permits remain at only half of what they were throughout most of the 1990s and early 2000s, but they are running better through the first half of this year than last year. Both the homebuilders and realtor communities are more upbeat about the Utah housing market than they have been for several years. Builders have nearly cleared their excess inventory, and realtors are speaking of more traffic and multiple offers for existing homes. Population has continued to grow throughout the recession period, so one would surmise that pent-up demand is building and will eventually spring forth at some time in a new homebuilding surge, but probably not in 2012.

To read more of this article, click here.