Chamber Dashboard: Utah economic indicators remain steadier than national trends

Utah continues to perform well economically compared to the rest of the United States. That is the conclusion reached by the Salt Lake Chamber with the release of its November 2025 Roadmap to Prosperity Economic Dashboard.

The chamber, with data developed by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, releases the Dashboard monthly to fuel business leaders’ understanding of Utah’s economy. The tool prioritizes key data on the state’s economic outlook and actionable context for decision-makers.

With the federal government shutdown ending in November, data visibility resumed, giving Dashboard readers a better look at key indicators.

Among the indices reported on the Dashboard was Utah’s Zions Bank Consumer Sentiment report for November. While Utah consumer sentiment rose 3.4 percent to a value of 75.8, the gap between Utah and the U.S. continues to widen as the U.S. index fell by 4.9 percent, to its lowest level since June 2022.

“Utah continues to perform relatively well compared to national trends, with consumer sentiment in Utah holding steadier than in much of the U.S.,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Utah Chamber.

Also contained in the report was an analysis of the state’s unemployment rate, which ticked up to 3.4 percent. This rate remained below the U.S. average unemployment rate, which increased from 4.3 percent to 4.4 percent for the same period. Dashboard authors concluded that the increases signal a softening labor market.

“While unemployment in Utah has edged up modestly, the state remains well below the national average,” said Miller.

The report also concluded that indices that maintained their levels or grew slightly were led by health care and public-sector gains.

“It makes me uncomfortable when health care and government employment outpace other sectors,” said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Gardner Institute. “In the coming months, I will be keeping a close eye on Utah’s tech and construction sectors as critical indicators of our economic health.”

The full Roadmap to Prosperity Economic Dashboard can be accessed at https://slchamber.com/resources/roadmap-dashboard/