By Gwendolyn C De Baca, Regional Economist

What is Inflation and Why is it a Problem?

Inflation has been a hot topic during the past several months. The Federal Reserve increased its benchmark rate by 0.75 points on June 15, 2022, and the members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) are reportedly considering raising rates again by another 0.75 points in late July. These aggressive moves by the Fed are in response to signs of increasing inflation, most recently from a staggering Labor Department report indicating that prices in June 2022 increased by 9.1% from a year earlier, a level of inflation not seen in 40 years. More...

SALT LAKE CITY (July 22, 2022) — Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for June 2022 increased an estimated 3.5% across the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 56,300 jobs since June 2021. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,666,300.

June’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate is estimated at 2.0%, unchanged from May, with approximately 34,900 Utahns unemployed. The June national unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%. More...

 By Michael Jeanfreau, Regional Economist

What is the Great Resignation?

Through almost half of 2021 (1), a record number of Americans quit their jobs. This mass movement of workers has been called “The Great Resignation.” Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University, originally used the term in an article when he predicted the exits back in May 2021 (2). After more than a year of uncertainty, rapid changes in the work environment and adjustments to new social norms caused Klotz to speculate that there were “pent-up resignations that didn’t happen over the past year,” and that there would be a reckoning later in the year. More...