According to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, the economy in Utah is still one of the best in the nation. The November Economic Summary, dated November 27, 2007, shows year-over job growth in Utah of 4.2% in October 2007, more than triple the national rate of 1.2%. Approximately 52,500 jobs were created in Utah in the last year. The unemployment rate continued to be very low in October 2007 at 2.8%, compared with the national unemployment rate of 4.7% for the same time period.

The Report went on to give a favorable economic outlook for 2008, stating that economic growth was expected to continue to be robust, though moderate. Employment growth is expected to slow from 4.5% in 2007 to 3.2% in 2008 and the unemployment rate should increase from the record low of 2.7% for 2007 to 2.9% in 2008. Residential construction is expected to continue to further weaken. However, the trend, which started in 2007, of a shift from residential to commercial construction is expected to continue.

The Summary Report is released on a monthly basis and contains a lot of great information about the demographics, wages, employment, GDP, CPI, interest rates and home prices for the state of Utah. The report can be found on http://governor.utah.gov/dea/ , then click on the Economic Summary link. Alternatively, there is the 2007 Governor’s Report, a 40 page report of various economic data. Just click on the Economic Report to the Governor link.