December 2009
Unemployment Rate
Click for latest employment situation
Utah: 6.7% U.S.: 10.0%
Year-Over Nonfarm Growth
Utah: -2.8% U.S.: -3.0%

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
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