Utah's Employment Situation for January 2018

Utah's Employment Situation for January 2018 has been released on the web.

Find the Current Economic Situation in its entirety here.

For charts and tables, including County Employment, go to the Employment and Unemployment page.

Next update scheduled for March 23rd, 2018.

Cost of Living Index for urban areas

Assume that you received a job offer in a different city and weren’t sure about how the cost of living compared to each other. Will you receive more (or less) after-taxes income and will it maintain (or sustain) your present lifestyle in your new location? The Council for Community and Economic Research supplies comparative data for urban areas on a quarterly basis, and areas surveyed include those where organizations have volunteered to participate.

See Utah’s current identified cities below:

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For more about the cost of living index, visit our site and C2ER.

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.

Job Vacancy Survey published for 4th Quarter 2012

The Job Vacancy Survey (JVS) is designed to gauge the characteristics of the current demand of labor in Utah. JVS can help job seekers identify occupations in demand and can assist employers in understanding the shared labor needs of the business community. Approximately 4,700 Utah Employers across five geographic areas were surveyed during the fourth quarter of 2012.

Analysis was conducted for statewide as a whole and five sub-state areas. The summary includes items such as education requested by employers, key industry sectors and openings by major occupational group. For more information, you can find
 the entire publication online.

Utah Licensed Occupations

The Department of Workforce Services provides information of occupations that require a license in Utah. This information is available through the data tool Occupational Explorer and through the dashboard Licensed Occupations. Licensed Occupations is now an interactive data visualization. Simply select the desired occupation and the information for the license required will be displayed. Links are provided for applications, regulatory agencies and any associated professional associations. You are also able to print this information by clicking on the symbol at the bottom.

* Information was gathered from the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing.

Utah’s Tax Rates Viewed Favorably

Tax structures vary across states. Each raises public revenues by taxing individuals, corporations, property, sales, etc. Some states choose to tax all of these variables; other states only tax some variables. And then, the rate at which they are taxed can vary from state to state. Since there is variability in what taxes are levied, and at what rate, as an economist I need a tool to is there someplace I can go to evaluate the whole package, to see what the overall burden of taxes as levied by a state are upon its the impact of these taxes on a state’s social and economic structure, and how it compares to other between states?. Thankfully such a tool exists, and you can access it. The answer is yes, at this link. It’s a 2014 State Business Tax Climate Index is available there, calculated by the Tax Foundation. Who is the Tax Foundation? Here is who they say they are: The tax foundation is“Founded in 1937, the Tax Foundation is “the nation’s leading independent, non-partisan organization providing sound research and analysis on federal and state tax policy. The Tax Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our offices are located in the National Press Building in Washington, DC.” Utah is listed in the top ten for states with the most favorable tax structure. Check out the article with maps and tables.

Utah Department of Workforce Services “Top” Jobs

Get a dynamic view of the occupations with the largest number of openings. Data is provided by job orders that have been placed with the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

DWS openings show data collected from June 2012 to the current quarter of data and can be seen in state, sub-state and individual counties. Selecting major occupational groups will show more detailed occupations and selecting occupations will show openings by selected area.

See the full version here.

Utah Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates available by County

Each month, DWS publishes the seasonally adjusted rates by county for the State of Utah. This month’s release is available here.

To read more about seasonally adjusted rates, look at Bureau of Labor Statistics and the United States Census Bureau.

Recent Layoffs Tempered by Overall Economic Growth

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/56829394-79/company-percent-cuts-defense.html.csp 
Recently, L3 Communications in Salt Lake City announced that it would lay off 220 workers. No one likes to see layoffs. When your neighbor loses their job, it is a layoff. When you lose your job, it is a crisis. We as individuals can relate to the disturbing and personal side of losing a job. As economists though, we are also charged with looking at layoffs through the lens of the big-picture economic viewpoint.

The L3 layoff is a small blip in the current Utah economic performance. Utah still has more to go to rebuild its economic strength that was undermined during the Great Recession, but Utah is rebounding briskly from that recession and is currently adding jobs on an annual basis higher than its long-term average. Over the past year Utah has added 40,000 jobs to its employment count. That’s on average 3,300 per month. Removing 220 workers from that count for September lowers the monthly gain for that one month to 3,100. You can see how that really isn't much of a setback for an economy on a dynamic path such as ours. Does that mean all of those workers will have an easy time finding new jobs? Not necessarily, but their chances are much better here in Utah than they may otherwise be in a less dynamic state than Utah, and there are plenty of those out there.

Layoffs that come in a sizeable package from a noticeable company like L3 make headlines. What doesn't make headlines are the small number of hires each day across the entire spectrum of Utah companies that when added together amount to a sizeable and healthy amount of job expansion, as the 40,000 jobs attest to. That is where the big-picture look at the economy helps to evaluate individual company announcements against the entire spectrum. Is it an isolated case, or a symptom associated with a system-wide problem?

Utah's 2012-2014 Statewide Occupational Projections available

The 2012-2014 Utah Occupational Projections have been published on the DWS website in PDF and excel. To find these on our site, go to the publication page and look for the “Utah Job Outlook” where you will find projections for the state.

Short-term projections are updated every year and includes employment estimates, annual openings and information about preparing for each occupation including education, work experience and job training.

National and local industry web tools

All of the industry data that the Department of Workforce Services collects has a NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) code; a standardized coding system used by the United States, Canada and Mexico, that provides consistency and comparison between industries. An industry (as opposed to occupation) represents businesses providing or producing the same products or services. NAICS divides industries into 20 sectors, coding each industry with up-to a 6-digit number, making it easy to look at industry data for the entire North American continent.



The U.S. Census Bureau has launched a new web tool called the Industry Statistics Portal. This new web application provides easy access to all Census Bureau programs that release statistics for a user-selected industry, as classified by the North American Industry Classification System.

The Department of Workforce Services has two online tools for industry that are specific to Utah. FirmFind allows you to find employers based on their industry. Information is available for specific county, groups of counties, or for the entire State. Industry employment and wage data is collected through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. The primary source for QCEW data are the reports submitted by employers to the Utah Unemployment Insurance program.

For an entire list of DWS’ online data tools, visit the Utah Economic Data Viewer (UEDV).

Housing costs keep Utah CPI on the rise

Prices in Utah inched up another 0.2 percent from June to July, according to the Zions Bank Wasatch Front Consumer Price Index (CPI). An increase in housing prices more than offset a fall in transportation costs. Over the past 12 months, prices have increased in Utah by 2.1 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. By comparison, prices across the U.S. have increased at a rate of 2.0 percent year-over-year, with an increase of less than 0.1 percent from June to July, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing costs, which represent the largest proportion of consumer spending at approximately 35 percent, increased 0.5 percent in July, driven by a 3 percent increase in hotel rates. This marks the fourth straight month hotel rates have increased in Utah. Increasing room rates were likely due to several large conferences such as USANA Health Sciences’ 2013 Annual Convention, MonaVie’s 2013 Annual Convention, and Salt Lake’s annual Comic Con. Over 20,000 people were expected to attend these three events, bringing important revenue to the state’s multi-billion-dollar tourism industry.  The Enterprise

Utah Farmland Values Up 5.6 Percent in 2013

Average farm real estate values, a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms, in Utah at $1,900 per acre was up 5.6 percent compared to 2012, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Utah Field Office.

Cropland in Utah averaged a value of $2,820 per acre in 2013, an increase of 4.8 percent from 2012. Irrigated cropland in the State was valued at an average of $5,200 per acre, up 4 percent from 2012 while non-irrigated cropland was valued at an average of $1,100 per acre, a rise of 6.8 percent from the year before.

Utah pasture land in 2013 was valued at an average of $950 per acre, an increase of 3.3 percent from 2012. USDA

For a look at the more detailed report and comparisons with the rest of the nation, see here.

Climbing Toward the American Dream

Financial inequality between the rich and the poor has been rising in the United States and in Utah over the past few decades. While such inequality has been connected to societal challenges, these challenges may be mitigated by economic mobility, or the ability of people to move up and down the economic ladder. Following an earlier analysis in 2010, this report examines the American Dream, with a focus on economic mobility in Utah by looking at five equally-sized income percentiles, often referred to as quintiles.

The 2010 report found that about a third of all Utahns were upwardly mobile over the study period. Utah Foundation’s new report includes an expansion of the previous report’s economic mobility analysis by looking at mobility within two periods – from 1994 through 2002 and 2003 through 2011 – and compares mobility across the periods. This comparison allows for an analysis as to whether economic mobility is increasing or decreasing for Utahns. Using a large sample of individual state income tax return data and analysis from the Utah State Tax Commission, Utah Foundation found that mobility has decreased. In other words, more people stayed within their respective income groups in the most recent nine-year period. Utah Foundation

Utah Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates available by County

Each month, DWS publishes the seasonally adjusted rates by county for the State of Utah. This month’s release is available here.

To read more about seasonally adjusted rates, look at Bureau of Labor Statistics and the United States Census Bureau.

Local Employment Dynamics (LED) data illuminates effects of recession and recovery

The Council for Community and Economic Research provides a monthly webinar series to help connect economic development experts and labor market information analysts with timely information on trending topics, new resources, and best practices.

After reading an article in a past issue of Trendlines, the United States Census Bureau invited DWS Regional Economist Lecia Parks Langston to present to the nation on Wednesday, August 21st, about Local Employment Dynamics (LED) data, and how it can be used for detailed analysis of local economies and industries over the business cycle.

This webinar is free to the public and can be signed up here.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) program produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.

There is no CPI data specific to Utah, so national data is relied upon for this page.

For monthly and annual CPI data see here.

Back to School

As part of its “Facts for Features” series, the U.S. Census Bureau regularly provides interesting data tidbits for special dates and occasions. They just recently released their “Back to School” statistics.

This week, public-school students in Washington County return to classrooms from summer vacation. So, the timing seems right to cover a few interesting statistics on education in Utah. . .


From the Utah State Office of Education:

In the 2011-2012 school year, white non-Hispanic students comprised 88 percent of total public school students. Hispanic/Latino students accounted for another 16 percent of students.

•  
•  Utah public schools maintained 555 elementary schools, 170 middle/junior high schools and 136 high schools in 2011-2012.
  
• More than 26,000 licensed classroom teachers provided education to Utah students in public schools.
  
• Utah’s public-school pupil-teacher ratio measured 22 students compared to 16 students nationwide.
  
• In October 2012, roughly 601,000 students were enrolled in public schools; 50,800 of those students attended charter schools. 

From the Utah Department of Workforce Services: 

•  In 2012, more almost 38,000 workers were employed in private educational services. An additional 66,800 employees worked in public education and another 39,100 individuals worked in public higher education.
  
• Payroll for educational services (public and private) totaled more than $4.7 billion.
  
• The median wages for school teachers in Utah are as follows: $47,800 for elementary school teachers, $50,400 for secondary school teachers and $50,800 for middle school teachers.
  
• Projected average annual openings for school teachers in Utah equals almost 1,200 per year (includes new jobs and turnover). 

From the American Community Survey:

• In 2011, 90 percent of the Utah population over the age of 25 had a high school diploma; almost 30 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
  
• Approximately 259,000 Utahns were enrolled in college or graduate/professional schools in 2011.
  
• Roughly 13 percent of the 2011 Utah population 18 years and older was enrolled in college or graduate school.
  
• About 4 percent of the population 35 years and older were enrolled in some type of schooling.
  
• Roughly 15 percent of Utah school-age children (5-17 years) spoke a language other than English at home.
  
• In 2011, Utah the median earnings for workers with a bachelor’s degree measured $14,400 than the median earnings for workers with just a high school education.

Aereo coming to Utah

Online TV streaming service Aereo is coming to Utah. The service is set to launch statewide on Aug. 19, just ahead of its September debut in Chicago. More than 2.8 million Utahns will have access to Aereo’s innovative antenna/DVR technology to record and watch live television online. Utah service will be statewide as opposed to the localized service as with previous rollouts.

“We’re excited to be launching our technology in Utah, or what is fast becoming known as the Silicon Slopes,” said Aereo CEO and founder Chet Kanojia…When it comes to how you watch television, Aereo’s technology will bring more choice and flexibility to Utahns across the state, whether you live in Salt Lake City, St. George or Ogden…”

Utahns who pre-register at Aereo.com will receive priority access to sign up. Aereo’s technology will be available to all consumers across all 29 counties on Aug. 19.


In Utah, consumers will be able to use Aereo’s unique antenna/DVR technology, to record and watch major networks such as KSTU-HD (FOX), KSL-DT (NBC), KUTV-HD (CBS), KTVX-HD (ABC) and KUED-HD (PBS), as well as other over-the-air special interest and foreign language channels, including BYU-TV, AntennaTV, ION, Qubo, Estrella TV and others. In addition, consumers will also have the ability to add Bloomberg Television.

Aereo membership costs begins at $8 per month, for access to Aereo and 20 hours of DVR storage. For an additional $4, consumers can upgrade their subscription and receive 60 hours of DVR storage for a total of $12 per month. Consumers who join Aereo will get their first of month of access for free.

Aereo’s technology works on "smart" devices from tablets to phones to laptop computers. Aereo is currently supported on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Safari, Opera, AppleTV (via airplay) and Roku devices. Android support is expected later this summer. The Enterprise

One of every 11 Utahns in poverty are college students

New U.S. Census Bureau data released Monday show that one of every 11 Utahns currently counted as living in poverty is a college student. (Poverty rates have included students who live off-campus, but those living in campus dormitories were already excluded from general poverty counts).

The number is much higher in some college towns and provides perhaps a different picture about the causes and cures for poverty there.

In Provo — home of Brigham Young University — the overall poverty rate is 32.5 percent. It drops to 21.5 percent when college students are excluded, down about 11 percentage points. That means one of every three people currently counted as living in poverty for the period of 2009-11 there are university students.

In Logan — home of Utah State University — the overall poverty rate of 31 percent drops to 24.6 percent when college students are taken out, a drop of 6.4 percentage points. It means one of every five people included in poverty rates there are students.



College "is a time in many people’s lives when they are not fully engaged in the labor force. They are investing in themselves, so they are borrowing money," said Pam Perlich, senior research economist at the University of Utah. "Education is an investment, so it [college poverty] is a short-term situation."

But impoverished students face the same daily challenges as others living in poverty.

Myla Dutton, executive director of Community Action Services and Food Bank in Provo says university students may have more resources available to them — such as help from parents — and challenges tend to be temporary.

Because of that, Bill Hulterstrom, president and CEO of the United Way of Utah County, says, his organization is focused on other low-income populations.

Some officials said they are actually surprised that students don’t account for more of the poverty in some college towns — and the new numbers may show bigger long-term problems than imagined.

Similarly, Roger Jones, executive director of the Bear River Association of Governments that oversees some anti-poverty programs in Cache, Box Elder and Rich counties, said the 24.6 percent poverty rate in Logan without counting students "surprises me. It’s higher than I thought."

Separating out students from others in poverty may help give a clearer picture of different causes of poverty, and help better target programs to overcome them, Perlich said.

It could help with some public relations, too. Provo for years has turned up in stories alongside such cities as Detroit and New Orleans as places with among the nation’s highest poverty — although causes and solutions may now be more easily shown as quite different.

But that doesn’t mean the community can afford to ignore what is a real challenge, say leaders.

The new data comes from the 2009-2011 American Community Survey, and is in a new working paper entitled, "Examining the Effect of Off-Campus College Students on Poverty Rates."

Following are some data about other Utah areas with universities:

• Sanpete County, home of Snow College in Ephraim. Its overall poverty rate is 16.1 percent. It
  drops to 12.2 percent without students, a drop of 3.9 percentage points.
• Cedar City, home of Southern Utah University. Its overall poverty rate is 24.5 percent.
  Without students, it drops to 21 percent, a drop of 3.5 percentage points.
• St. George, home of Dixie College. The overall poverty rate of 15 percent drops to 13 percent
  without students, down 2 percentage points.
• Salt Lake City. Its poverty rate of 20.8 percent drops to 18.9 percent without students, a drop
  of 1.8 percentage points.
• Orem, home to Utah Valley University. The poverty rate of 15.5 percent drops to 14 percent
  without students, down 1.5 percentage points.
• Ogden, home of Weber State University. Its poverty rate of 23.7 percent drops to 22.6

percent without students, down 1.1 percentage points.

Salt Lake Tribune