The Salt Lake Chamber’s Roadmap to Prosperity Coalition, in partnership with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, has updated its Economic Dashboard for March to help business leaders see where Utah’s economy stands. This tool provides data on the state’s economic outlook and actionable context for decision-makers.
“Consumers continue to face market headwinds with high inflation and a tight labor market in Utah hampers labor expansion,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “Our industries continue to grow but taxable retail sales dropped steeply at the start of this year much like they did in the pandemic. The good news is that Utah continues its trend of economic expansion, albeit at a slower rate due to larger issues playing out in the country. As the markets tighten and demand weakens, we expect Utah to continue outperforming others.”
Miller pointed out three essential insights from the March 2023 Roadmap to Prosperity Dashboard, which include:
1. Utah’s unemployment rate remains among the lowest in the nation. Utah’s unemployment rate stayed the same at 2.4 percent in March. The national unemployment rate also remained unchanged at 3.6 percent. Utah’s low unemployment rate indicates ongoing tight labor market conditions.
2. Consumer confidence in Utah fell in March. Economic uncertainty persists, contributing to Utah’s dip in consumer sentiment after two months of increases. Despite declining, Utah’s sentiment remains above national consumer confidence.
3. Utah’s home prices experienced a slight uptick. After falling seven of the past eight months, Utah’s median home sales price rose slightly despite rising interest rates. Demand has slowed in recent months, but Utah’s housing market remains tight.
The dashboard is updated monthly, providing essential insights, tracking 10 timely and leading measures and sharing pertinent indicators. This provides leaders with critical and timely information to make informed decisions, Miller said.
“Utah is experiencing a competitive labor market and renewed housing price pressure despite interest rate raises from the Federal Reserve,” said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. “Broad industry growth remains stable in Utah even with tech layoffs initiating a labor market reshuffling of talent. Our unemployment rate means job opportunities remain for those seeking work, and steepening inflation has started to curve. The state is well-positioned to weather any economic slowdown thanks to strong fundamentals already in place.”
The Roadmap to Prosperity Dashboard is available at https://slchamber.com/resources/roadmap-dashboard/.