Economy

Significant Statistics | Which area of the Wasatch Front has the highest income inequality?

Written by: Staff

Earlier this month, Utah Foundation held a Breakfast Briefing looking at income inequality. Utah Foundation has also dedicated multiple Significant Statistics posts to looking at how income inequality varies across the state. We found that urban counties in Utah have the same levels of inequality when compared to more-rural counties (though income baselines varied significantly). However, the broad analysis obscures some of the detail, showing wide variation in inequality among counties and regions. Similarly, looking … Continued

Significant Statistics | Income Inequality in Utah: Urban Versus Rural

Written by: Staff

Income Inequality in Utah: Urban Versus Rural Last week, Utah Foundation held a Breakfast Briefing on income inequality in Utah. One question that the briefing didn’t address is what income inequality looks like off of the Wasatch Front. While last week’s Significant Statistic looked at inequality by county and region, this week’s post looks more directly at the urban/rural divide.[1] Utah Foundation sorted Utahns by urban and more-rural counties, dividing each into five evenly-sized groups … Continued

Significant Statistics | What’s the income distribution in your corner of Utah?

Written by: Staff

Income Inequality in Utah: Comparing Counties and Regions UTAH CAN CLAIM both one of the nation’s least unequal income distributions and one of the highest measures of social mobility. However, it has not been immune to national trends of growing income inequality. According to one of the panelists at a June 30 Utah Foundation Breakfast Briefing, the bottom 10% of income earners in Utah saw their real income decline between 1990 and 2014 and the … Continued

Op-ed: Why you should bet on Utah right now

Written by: Peter Reichard

Any major economic crisis has a tabula rasa effect, with businesses, investors and individuals pausing to consider big changes. Some will roll out a map of the United States to seek greener pastures. Some of them will decide to place their chips on Utah. Many current Utah residents will just double down. That makes sense, because this state is among the safest of bets. Here are 10 reasons why. 1. Utah has strong social capital. … Continued

Significant Statistics | Wasatch Front area takes lightest jobs hit among large U.S. metros

Written by: Staff

A NEW CBRE ANALYSIS has revealed that the Wasatch Front area was the least hit for year-over-year April job losses among 40 large U.S. metro areas studied. The area from Ogden to Provo saw its unemployment level at 6.6% higher than April 2019.[1] Phoenix and Dallas areas were tied for second best at 7.6% higher. April’s unemployment levels vary across Utah, but tourism-dependent counties have taken the hardest hits.[2] Grand County, which contains Moab, saw … Continued

Significant Statistics | Housing Permits Plummet

Written by: Staff

UTAH HOUSING BUILDING PERMITS decreased from 3,070 in March to 2,089 in April, a 32% decrease.1 Interestingly, this came just after a March in which the greater Salt Lake City area (MSA) saw the highest number of housing permits in decades, and perhaps ever – over 1,500. The next month, they plummeted: April saw a decrease to just over 800.2 Meanwhile, regional housing start3 estimates across the West indicate a dramatic dropoff, from 325,000 in … Continued

Significant Statistics | Utah Ranks Lowest in Unemployment Claims as a Percentage of Workforce

Written by: Staff

THE LATEST NATIONAL TAX FOUNDATION NUMBERS comparing unemployment claims put Utah in a favorable position relative to her 50 sisters: as of May 16, the Beehive State had the nation’s lowest unemployment claims as a percentage of the civilian workforce, at 5.7%. Contrast Utah’s situation with the five states with the highest percentage of claims, including three states in our neighborhood: Washington (31%), Nevada (25%), Oregon (24%), Hawaii (24%) and Florida (23%). The figures reflect … Continued

Op-Ed: As economic decline strains Utah families, legal needs will intensify

Written by: Peter Reichard

To a large extent, the legal needs facing lower-income Utah households serves as a barometer of the strains facing those households overall. So getting a handle on what those needs are — and the extent to which they are being met — becomes critical to philanthropic and governmental decision-making. This is true all the more in a time of crisis. A new report from Utah Foundation goes in-depth on this question. The Justice Gap: Addressing … Continued

Video: Unmet Legal Needs in Utah

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Utah Foundation’s second video of 2020 provides an overview of the findings from our new report on unmet legal needs in Utah. It also addresses needs that may flare up in light of the current economic crisis. Please watch and share our latest video. You can find the report and an executive summary here. The legal needs project was made possible with funding from the Utah Bar Foundation.

Significant Statistics | Utah Hits 150,000 New Unemployment Filings in Seven Weeks

Written by: Staff

UTAH EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS ARE BLEAK, but not as bleak as the national numbers. From February to March, state unemployment increased by 1.1% to 3.6%. This is the second largest monthly increase in the past 45 years. Only in late 2008 was there a larger monthly unemployment increase (1.4%).1 The state’s unemployment rate will jump much higher for April. In February, the U.S. unemployment rate hit a 50 year low (3.5%). Nationally, unemployment jumped from 4.4% … Continued