Utah's Economic Recession Bottoming Out

THIS ARTICLE WAS TAKEN FROM UTAH PULSE.COM

Utah's most painful economic contraction since the Great Depression appears close to establishing a bottom, according to the Autumn 2009 issue of Zions Bank's Insight-Economic News of Utah and the Nation released today. Prospects are rising for a return to modest Utah job creation that should be clear within 6 to 9 months.

"Utah's economy should show more signs of life throughout 2010," said Jeff Thredgold, economic consultant to Zions Bank and author of Insight. "Even as the economy stabilizes, however, more vibrant economic conditions seem perhaps 18 to 24 months away."

The five states sharing a border with Utah currently have an average unemployment rate of 9.0 percent, versus 6.0 percent in Utah, while the three West Coast states have an average jobless rate of 11.2 percent. Utah's painful 4.4 percent decline in total employment during the past year has been exceeded by the average 5.4 percent rate of decline among the five bordering states.

The quarterly Insight publication features updates on current and projected economic developments for the state of Utah, the nation, and the global economy. The Autumn 2009 issue also examines the federal deficit. Following are a few highlights from the latest Insight:

As is true across the nation, the majority ofUtah's lost jobs during the past 18 months have occurred in construction and manufacturing. Substantial Utahemployment weakness has also occurred in trade, transportation and utilities and professional and business services.
Only education and health services and the government sector added jobs during the most recent 12-month period.
Utahwill continue to do well in attracting new employers and retaining existing companies in coming years because of the reasonable cost of doing business, as well as a more affordable cost of living than found in many areas across theU.S.The August 2009Utah"cost of doing business" estimate of Moody's Economy.com was 90 percent of theU.S.average. Similar costs forSalt Lake Cityand Provo-Orem were 87 percent and 81 percent, respectively.
The plunge in new home construction acrossUtahand around the nation during the past two years should give way to modest, but continual, improvement in coming years.

Jeff Thredgold's full report:
http://utahpulse.com/files/UT%20Insight%20autumn%2009.pdf