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.

The economy is not a barometer for sales success

by Timothy B Huffaker, as reported in Utah Policy

I started my professional sales career in June 1976, nearly thirty-seven years ago. I believe for someone to have spent that many years in sales they must love what they do and have eternal optimism, or they would have moved on long ago. During my sales career I have seen wonderfully bullish economies where sales were easy and plentiful, where salespeople with no apparent skills appeared as heroes and sales records were set. I have also experienced economies in the doldrums, where there was little hope and even less optimism for success. From my perspective, the past four years have truly been the worst years I have witnessed since becoming a salesperson. The thing that was most disturbing during the past four years was the absence of hope and a reality without economic improvement.

Just as in the Great Depression that began on Black Tuesday October 29, 1929, the recession that began in 2008 produced high unemployment, financial devastation, failed companies and surprisingly, many individual corporate successes. In an atmosphere of despair, with no light to be seen at the end of the economic tunnel, why have some companies flourished while many failed and most suffered extreme losses while teetering on the boarders of peril? Just as in the Great Depression, those companies that succeeded during the most recent recession set a clear course on increasing sales. They didn’t accept reduced financial results because of the economy. They marshaled all of their resources and challenged the economy and their competitors for what sales might still be had. They took a proactive and aggressive approach in finding every opportunity that might possibly exist while helping others discover solutions to unrecognized needs.



During the past four years, most, if not all of the companies and salespeople I have worked with have experienced their best years, even better than the bullish years that preceded the most recent Great Recession. These companies and salespeople have worked harder at selling than at any other time. They were focused and razor sharp in executing their sales skills. In many cases they took business away from their competitors who believed there were no sales to be made and turned their backs as my clients swept in and made sales without experiencing any competition.

I’m an eternal optimist, but I am not bullish on the current economy looking forward. However, I believe those companies and salespeople who work their hardest, applying the correct sales principles and skills can continue to find sales success even as we face economic difficulties and uncertainty. There will be many companies which will fall victim to the current economy and there will still be many who will have their best years ever. It is a matter of focus, direction, effort and skills. Don’t use the current economy as a measure of growth and financial success of your company. That is what your competitors are doing. They are thinking the economy is struggling therefore our sales will be down.

It is time to make a change in both attitude and action. This year can be your best year ever, but you will need to do things you have never done before. Set aggressive sales goals and define them well. Break the goals into smaller steps and activities that are both believable and achievable. Provide opportunities for your salespeople to improve their skills. As a salesperson, practice your skills and work harder at applying your skills than you have done in the past. We all face a difficult and challenging future, but with those challenges and difficulties we will find success beyond our wildest expectations. I’m an eternal optimist and I love the world of sales. Utah Policy

Consumption Rising, Demanding Legislative Action

Although key members of the Legislature for years have tried to control consumption by restricting the number of alcohol licenses available to restaurants, bars and clubs, an inevitable demographic change and
the push for more economic development could help reshape that longtime policy.

Under current law, each outlet must have a liquor permit, tying up dozens of licenses and creating shortages, which lawmakers generally have been unwilling to remedy, citing concerns about drunk driving, underage drinking and over-consumption.

A lack of available licenses has stopped some chains from entering the market and others from expanding, drawing the attention of everyone from the governor to business owners left out in cold by a lack of permits.

The increase in per capita consumption in Utah is for all types of alcohol, including wine, beer and spirits. Salt Lake Tribune

Halloween spooky spending gives merchants a treat

Ryan Heugly, owner of Mask Costumes, with outlets in Salt Lake City and Taylorsville, said many of his customers are do-it-yourselfers, preferring to put together their own costumes. This year, local favorites are superheroes and zombies.

Despite the economy, Halloween has become the state’s second-highest season for retail revenues, said David Davis president of the Utah Retail Merchants Association. Grocers also are seeing an uptick in sales.

"Along with spending on costumes, decorations and candy, people get hungry," he said. "Anytime you get people together for parties and other social gatherings, there’s always food." Salt Lake Tribune

Drought not the only thing killing crops in Utah

A bumper crop normally is a good thing for farmers, but some say the unusually large harvest is having the opposite effect.

Under normal circumstances, a bumper crop of cherries would be a good thing. But Washington state also had a bumper crop, which usually follows the Utah market, and Utah follows the California market.

There is some overlap between the end of the California cherry season and the beginning of Utah's season, and again with the end of Utah's season and the beginning of Washington's. Michael said that could cause the markets to have too many cherries.

"The price dropped," said Janna Tyler, owner of Nielson's Fruit at 2055 S. U.S. 89, "and we could not afford to pay our pickers and get the price out of them that we should have gotten because people can buy them elsewhere." Deseret News

Keep states out of Utah's pockets

Over the past several years, consumers have been downloading digital products such as mobile phone applications, music, e-books and digital videos at an increasingly rapid pace.

New technologies are changing the way Utahns shop for products every day. To the benefit of consumers across the state, the proliferation of broadband Internet and mobile services has made finding the best deals even easier for shoppers. It has also created a marketplace for a whole new range of products — and new sources for elected officials seeking more tax revenue.


In fact, the Utah Legislature already passed a bill to tax these products and services in the same way as items offered through more traditional means like physical retail outlets. If a Utah consumer buys a book at a local shop, the purchase includes the state's sales tax. If the same consumer buys an electronic copy of the same book for an e-reader, he or she is supposed to be assessed the same charge, and no more. Unfortunately, the current taxation of digital goods and services is problematic.

When consumers in Utah click "download," they usually pay Utah sales tax on the purchase. But unbeknownst to them, consumers may also owe a tax to a state where they don't live and a place where they've never been.

One reason this occurs is because states have different definitions of their taxing powers that often intersect. But much of the confusion results from the fact that there is currently no national framework delineating which state can tax which purchase and it can leave consumers paying two or even three times for one download.

Utah citizens already pay taxes for the digital goods and services they use every day. Letting other states reach further into their pockets from outside our borders not only hurts their finances, but also damages the marketplace for these new products. Deseret News

Priceline Fends Off State Taxes On Hotel Service Fees

As Amazon.com (AMZN) and other e-tailers await congressional efforts to create a uniform sales tax for online purchases, Web travel firms like Priceline.com are fending off similar tax moves at the state level.
Some hoteliers and local politicians have been prodding their statehouses to pass laws that would make online travel agencies liable for full sales and occupancy taxes on the rooms they sell. This is the practice now in only a few states and localities.

None of this year's efforts have moved beyond the proposal stage. Some say this is because new taxes on business are a touchy issue in a presidential election year.

Maryland, Oregon, Utah and Virginia have decided not to enact such a tax this year.

Priceline (PCLN) and other Web travel agencies argue that they're not hotels and should be exempt from paying the same taxes as hotels.

Many hotel groups disagree, and will keep beating the drum for these taxes, observers say.

Hotel owners say online travel agencies enjoy an unfair advantage because a portion of the payment they get for booking rooms for hotels, called a service fee, isn't subject to state occupancy and hotel taxes.

"(The bill) was assigned to a summer study committee where we intend to testify and educate legislators about the truth that (online travel siies) are ripping off local and state governments by not paying their fair share of occupancy and sales taxes," Adkins told IBD. Investor's Business Daily

Utah, Arizona office furniture providers to merge

Interior Solutions, an office furniture provider based in Salt Lake City, has merged with Concert Architectural Interiors.

Concert has served the Arizona market for more than 13 years, providing office furniture, movable walls, modular casework and specialty healthcare products. It generated annual sales of approximately $20 million over the past five years.

"When we put our two companies side by side and consider our separate scope of services but similar service-based business approach, it is easy to see how two is better than one," Interior Solutions President Peter Harris said in a statement Tuesday.

Interior Solutions, which was founded 23 years ago, has operations in Utah, Arizona, California and Idaho.

Greg Gawin, owner of Concert, said his company should open new furniture markets for Interior Solutions, such as selling into the acute care hospital market, museums, libraries and 911 command rooms. Salt Lake Tribune