April 2009
Unemployment Rate
Click for latest employment situation
Utah: 5.2% U.S.: 8.9%
Year-Over Nonfarm Growth
Utah: -3.2% U.S.: -3.8%

Utah TrendLines Extra
June 1, 2009

Utah Economic News and Data



Utah's unemployment rate held steady in April at 5.2 percent, according to numbers released by the state's Department of Workforce Services. But the state is not finished shedding jobs, and it will likely be several months before job losses hit bottom and things turn around. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705305678/Utah-jobless-rate-in-April-stayed-at-52.html

Utah business executives are feeling more optimistic about their companies' financial futures—the first improvement in what has been an increasingly gloomy past two years. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705306588/Zions-executive-survey-takes-a-turn-toward-optimism.html

Investors from around the country as well as in Utah invested in Utah businesses more frequently in 2008 than in 2007. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705305783/Investment-deals-grew-in-08-for-Utah-firms.html

The Interior Department will invest $118.7 million in Utah from the Obama administration's federal stimulus pot. This spending will occur across several agencies, which will be responsible for soliciting competitive bids for various "shovel-ready" projects. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12360805

Household products giant Reckitt Benckiser is coming to Tooele County. The global company broke ground Wednesday on a $35 million custom-manufacturing and distribution center across the street from Miller Motorsports Park that will create 200 jobs. The Utah center will be the distribution hub for the Pacific Northwest and western Canada. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705301748/Reckitt-Benckiser-bringing-200-jobs-to-Tooele-County.html

Internet auction company eBay Inc. has announced that it will consolidate its North America customer service facilities, with plans to grow employment at its South Jordan facility. The company said it will close its facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, which has about 700 agents, by Sept. 30. The South Jordan facility has more than 900 agents. EBay did not disclose how many agents would be added in South Jordan. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705303073/EBay-to-move-jobs-to-South-Jordan.html

Continental Airlines will eliminate about 80 jobs in Salt Lake City as part of a plan to cut 500 reservation agents companywide and close a call center in Tampa, Fla. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_12362635

The number of passengers using Salt Lake City International Airport fell sharply in the first quarter as the recession continued to rage and airlines cut domestic flights. The number of travelers flying into and from Salt Lake City's airport fell 12 percent, to 4.8 million, in the January-March period from 5.4 million a year earlier. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_12298970

The commercial real estate market along the Wasatch Front is facing tough economic challenges, and Utah County is no exception. Every sector of the market is experiencing difficulties brought on by the downturn in the state and national economies, according to analysts at the Utah County commercial real estate conference. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705301643/Tough-in-Utah-County.html

Utah's home values fell 9.3 percent in the year that ended in March, and though it was the sixth-highest drop among all states, the decline coaxed even some reluctant buyers into making a move. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_12459668

In Utah, 8.4 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are either behind on their payments or in foreclosure, though that's below a record of 12.1 percent nationally, a new report shows. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_12469546

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he relied on mistaken information in shelving 77 leases for oil and gas exploration in Utah and will conduct a thorough review of the actions surrounding the December auction. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12413205

Three petroleum companies and three Utah counties are suing the U.S. Interior Department, alleging that Secretary Ken Salazar broke the law in setting aside 77 disputed oil and gas lease parcels in the Beehive State. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12372304

Utah, which had an increase of 120 percent in foreclosure-related filings over the past year, now has the sixth-highest rate among all states. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12364153

Utah's largest renewable energy facility is inching toward completion, fulfilling the president's dream, but not with his money. Construction workers on the Milford Wind Corridor, a planned 300-megawatt wind-energy farm in Beaver County, have finished 20 of the foundations needed for the farm's 97 wind turbines. They've also completed most of the transmission line between the farm and the Intermountain Power Plant in Delta and expect the first turbine tower to go up by the end of the month, all building up to the ribbon-cutting in December. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705306329/Utah-wind-farm-nearing-completion.html

Unexpectedly low bids from road builders have allowed the state of Utah to add nine projects to its list of recipients for federal stimulus dollars. The Utah Transportation Commission shifted $13.3 million toward new projects. Savings in the state's regular highway program also allowed commissioners to move $9 million from work on State Route Highway 89 and a State Street railroad in Pleasant Grove. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12405760

The Utah Department of Transportation, local governments and transportation planning organizations have spent 80.7 percent of stimulus funds provided by the federal government, making the Beehive State the second fastest in the nation to spend the funds. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705305317/Utah-is-2nd-fastest-in-spending-stimulus-funds.html

City officials are ecstatic: Not only did they manage to secure their largest chunk of financing for the Davis Cultural Arts Center, they also got a great interest rate. Groundbreaking has been set for May 28. When the center is completed in October 2010, it will include a 500-seat main-stage theater, rehearsal space and a black-box theater for smaller productions. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705301753/Centerville-bonds-for-theater.html

Utah is 50.5 percent male and one of only 11 states with more men than women. Leading the U.S. pack, as usual, is the fabled frontiersman's hide-out, Alaska, at 52.1 percent. Nevada and Wyoming also have a higher proportion of men, and Utah is fourth. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12365589

The $2 million in one-time funds the statewide engineering initiative received to promote engineering at the higher education level could help bring Utah's economy out of its current slump. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705306174/Engineering-initiative-could-rejuvenate-economy.html

A company that extracts minerals from the Great Salt Lake wants more room to work along it. Great Salt Lake Minerals Corp. says the expanded request is an attempt to meet growing demand for sulfate of potash, a specialty fertilizer. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705306830/Company-seeks-expanded-use-of-Great-Salt-Lake.html
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