Utah TrendLines Extra
February 1, 2010
Utah
Economic News and Data
Utah's unemployment rate and job losses continue to
climb. The unemployment rate in the state rose to 6.7 percent in December 2009,
up 0.4 of a percentage point from November and comparing with a 4.1 percent
rate a year earlier. Nonfarm wage and salaried jobs in Utah shrank by 2.8
percent in 2009, with 34,700 jobs removed from the state economy during that
period. Total Utah employment is about 1.21 million.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705360024/Utah-jobless-rate-rises-to-67.html
Micron
Technology Inc. and Intel Corp. announced they have begun production of the
world's smallest flash memory chip at their joint production plant in Utah. The
new chip already being produced for testing places IM Flash Technologies Inc.'s
Lehi plant at the front of the technology of chip production. The Lehi plant
employs about 1,500 workers, and though employment is not expected to increase
as the new chips are produced, analysts think production could help secure jobs
for some time.
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14310408
Numbers are
what the U.S. Census Bureau is about, and for Utah's part of the federal
agency's 2010 census plan, the first number is 3,050. That's how many Utahns
will be temporarily employed—for varying lengths of time from late February
into August—in three Wasatch Front 2010 Census call centers. About 1,500 will
be employed in Sandy, 1,100 in Murray and 450 in Ogden.
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14182983
For home
builders along the Wasatch Front, 2009 was one of the worst years ever—but a
step up from a particularly dismal 2008. Builders took out permits for the construction
of 4,337 single-family homes last year, up from a low of 3,992 in 2008.
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14174354
Home sales
are up, but prices are still going down. That's the focus of the Salt Lake
Board of Realtors' newest report covering the housing market along the Wasatch
Front.
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14278818
Utah had the fifth-worst rate of foreclosure filings
among the states in 2009. A record 2.8 million households nationwide were
threatened with foreclosure last year, and that number is expected to rise this
year as more unemployed and cash-strapped homeowners fall behind on their
mortgages.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705358390/Foreclosures-soaring-in-Utah.html
Consumers
and businesses in Utah and nationally are filing for bankruptcy at a pace that
made 2009 the seventh-worst year on record, with 1.4 million petitions
submitted.
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14120941
The Utah economy held steady for the second consecutive
month. Utah's Business Conditions Index, compiled by the Goss Institute for
Economic Research and based on a survey of supply managers, stood at 55.0 in
December—identical to the November index.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705356171/Economic-growth-in-Utah-is-still-holding-steady-report-shows.html
The number of individuals and businesses filing for
bankruptcy in Utah jumped 56 percent in 2009—the fifth-biggest rise among
states.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705356736/Bankruptcy-filings-rose-56-last-year-in-Utah.html
The Wasatch Front housing market has been on a historic
roller coaster ride for the better part of the past decade, reaching its
pinnacle just over two years ago. A new report indicates that wild market ride
may finally be "pulling into the station" this year, offering some
hope to wearied consumers, Realtors and other industry insiders.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705357849/Utah-outlook-on-housing-is-improving.html
Utah hotels
finished 2009 with occupancy rates 6 percent to 7 percent below 2008 levels.
Despite the dip, the declines for the last three months of the year were about
half of the annual rate, with December's slippage under 2 percent. Average
nightly rates also showed signs of rebounding, according to the latest monthly
report from the Denver-based Rocky Mountain Lodging Report.
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14265062
The 2010 Economic Report to the Governor says Utah's
tourism industry shrunk by about $700 million in the past year, to $6.2
billion. The number of visitors to the state dropped by nearly 1 million from
the previous year, to 19.4 million.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705357221/Utah-tourism-trade-shrank-by-700-million-during-2009.html
A Utah company is about to celebrate its expansion in an otherwise
contracting economy. Taylorsville-based Nelson Laboratories Inc. conducted an
open house to announce the creation of 75 to 100 new jobs as the company
expands its operations into a new $13 million, 50,000-square-foot building
adjacent to its other facility located at 6280 S. Redwood Road.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705358908/Nelson-Laboratories-adding-jobs.html
Saying it couldn't have been better timed, Utah County
commissioners finalized plans to build a convention center in downtown Provo.
With the economy struggling and the federal government offering incentives to
spend, Utah County locked down an interest rate of 3.89 percent on its $40.15
million worth of bonds issued for the convention center.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705358118/Plans-finalized-to-build-Provo-convention-center.html
Atlas Van Lines moved nearly as many people into Utah as
out of the state in 2009, according to statistics in the 2009 Atlas Van Lines
Migration Patterns study.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705356680/Atlas-Van-Lines-helps-many-into-out-of-Utah.html
Ten months
into President Barack Obama's first economic stimulus plan, a surge in spending
on roads and bridges has had no effect on local unemployment and only barely
helped the beleaguered construction industry.
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_14167509
In an
abrupt about-face, the LDS Church has vastly expanded its presence in downtown
Salt Lake City with the purchase of 13 acres of prime real estate, including
one entire city block.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_14142357?source=most_viewed
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Security
Agency have commissioned the construction of a data center at Camp Williams, a
National Guard training site operated by the Utah Army National Guard and
located 26 miles south of Salt Lake City in Utah County. Approximately 50 to 60 subcontractors may be chosen to
participate in the project, resulting in 700 to 800 jobs during the almost
two-year construction period.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705358104/National-Security-Agency-data-center-at-Camp-Williams-drawing-huge-interest-in-Utah.html
Utah's first business incubator focused on
renewable energy has begun operations at University Plaza, near the campus of
Dixie State College.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705358916/Renewable-energy-incubator-operating.html
It may sound like a broken record to say 2009
was a tough year in virtually every sector of the Utah real estate market, but
the final year of the decade also offered some hope for the start of the next
10-year period.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705358646/Utah-Commercial-real-estate-vacancy-rates-rose-in-2009.html
Utah will receive $4.6 million in State Energy Sector
Partnerships and Training Grants designed to teach workers the skills required
in emerging industries, including energy efficiency and renewable energy.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705359919/Utah-to-get-46M-in-grants.html
Core drilling has discovered three new
high-grade silver ore zones above the main body of silver in the historic
Burgin Extension mine.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705360978/New-silver-zones-found-in-Eureka-mine.html
