Utah’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Best in U.S.
Utah’s economy is a shining star in the nation’s otherwise struggling economic landscape. We can thank our government leaders and our state’s citizens who’ve been doing the right things in most cases on their own initiative.
Steady hands at the helm of state and local government struck an appropriate balance between slowing COVID-19’s spread –we have the 8th lowest state per capita death rate – and guiding our economy through the pandemic, the best in the country according to 24/7 Wall St.
We benefitted from a vibrant and diversified economy going into the pandemic. Nonetheless, like every other state, Utah’s economic output dropped in 2020’s first quarter. But only four states fared better than our 3.1 percent drop; the nation as a whole fell 5.0 percent.
The construction industry leads the way in Utah’s economy as we in Southern Utah can attest every time we look around. Through June, statewide construction employment was up 8.7 percent year-over-year.
After spiking briefly at 11.1 percent in April, Utah’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent in July, lowest in the nation. Utah’s July year-over-year 1.8 percent drop in the total number of employed workers was second lowest in the nation.
Washington County’s unemployment rate spiked to over 12 percent in April but has dropped to 6 percent in June and is undoubtedly lower now. Logan, Provo, Ogden and St. George are among 20 metro areas with the lowest unemployment of 389 areas around the country.
The bulk of Utah’s job losses occurred in our important hospitality and leisure industry. We need to remember that many of these lower-paid folks have lost jobs and are struggling, each a tragedy in its own right.
About 73,000 Utahns were unemployed in July and were receiving an additional $600 per week in supplemental federal unemployment benefits on top of Utah’s standard rates. That Congressional authorization ran out at the end of July and was replaced by a special allocation of federal funds for those states that applied. Utah was one of the first 11 states to receive approval for the additional funding. Kudos to the Herbert administration for getting on top of this one.
States around the country have been fiscally stressed and many are clamoring for federal funding to make up for lost state revenues. You won’t be surprised to hear that while Utah’s state budget has been downsized, the state is near the top of the heap for fiscal stability.
U.S. News ranks the short- and long-term fiscal outlook for all 50 states. Utah is fifth overall with a top of the heap credit rating score; only state employee pension fund liabilities are holding us back.
Natalie Gochnour, director of the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, says that COVID-19’s “impacts will continue to be uneven. And that’s by socioeconomic, by industry, by race, by geography. We’ll see more disruptions.”
Utah isn’t out of the coronavirus woods yet, but we’re seeing light filtering through the trees and have every reason to stay the course we’re on.
