The Salt Lake Chamber’s Roadmap to Prosperity Coalition has updated its Economic Dashboard for March. The chamber published the dashboard in partnership with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah.
The coalition cited three key finding from the March dashboard:
1. Utah’s unemployment rate is the lowest in the nation. Utah’s February unemployment rate of 2.3 percent is the lowest in the nation, tied with Nebraska.
2. Utah home prices continue to rise. Utah’s home prices have risen drastically over the past year, with a median home sale price of $486,000 in January 2022.
3. Consumer confidence increases in Utah. While Utah’s consumer confidence has been in decline, January and February saw upticks in Utah while confidence nationwide continued to fall.
“Utah’s consumer confidence continues to climb as the broader U.S. confidence dips for another month,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance. “This divergence falls in line with Utah’s record unemployment rate and surging economy. Despite some headwinds, Utah’s economic rebound has been broadening and gaining depth across industries. Thankfully, several structural factors are at play in our state to keep us leading the nation economically.”
The dashboard is updated monthly, providing economic insights, tracking 10 timely and leading measures,and sharing pertinent indicators since the start of the pandemic. This provides leaders with critical and timely information to make informed decisions, the coalition said.
“This new economic dashboard highlights the positive effects of real job growth and returning consumer confidence,” said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. “Utah’s economic resiliency continues to be a model for other states to follow. We now show no industries with job loss over the prior year and others, like natural resources, have come roaring back. Our challenge now is to maintain this growing economic diversity and increasing consumer sentiment throughout the state.”
The Roadmap to Prosperity Coalition is a business-led coalition co-chaired by Mikelle Moore, senior vice president and chief community health officer at Intermountain Healthcare, and Scott Parson, CEO of Staker Parson Materials & Construction. Investors of the coalition include Mountain America Credit Union, WCF Insurance, the Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation, Deseret Management Corp., Intermountain Healthcare, Staker Parson Materials & Construction and Rio Tinto Kennecott.