OGDEN — It’s a really good time for economic expansion in Northern Utah says Chris Roybal, president and CEO of the Northern Utah Economic Alliance. As of September, the state’s economy added a cumulative 53,600 jobs since the same time last year, according U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The most recent Utah Employment Summary, released last month, shows Utah’s two-year job growth rates to be at 3.4%, whereas the national average is experiencing a 2.5% decline.

Mark Knold, chief economist at the DWS, says summer months brought the two-year job growth measure up from 2.3% in May to 3.3% in July this year. Knold attributes the full percentage-point increase in one month’s time to the rapid reemergence of Utah’s economy. 

Surveys completed by the business community in Utah show 70% of major industry groups are adding jobs. Northrop Grumman Corp. is expecting to add 2,500 jobs, potentially, at its future headquarters near Hill Air Force Base.

There are more jobs in Utah now than prior to the onset of the pandemic; however, the population’s workforce has fallen below where it was previously, according to survey data collected by the labor bureau.

“We view this as a natural, short-term condition and not a new normal,” Knold said of people’s apprehension to return to work.

For Knold, teleworking was the great experiment that flipped the workforce on its head, with a labor force participation rate of nearly 68%. Leisure and hospitality services were among Utah’s largest private sector losses during the past two years with a loss of 3,500 jobs. 

The largest private sector gains include 17,800 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities, and 15,500 jobs in professional and business services.

Roybal believes people are migrating to Salt Lake County for work and says Davis and Weber counties need to bring more office and tech jobs closer to home.

NUEA’s 20-year economic plan includes an office development in Farmington’s Station Park, predicted to create 10,000 jobs, and a West Weber mega-site industrial development to bring 25,000 jobs.

NUEA is hoping to complement the changes happening in Salt Lake County. “We need to keep our track shoes on to keep up,” Roybal said of the competitive labor market. “We need to turn the tide.”

Roybal said he believes businesses should offer better benefits and compensation to not only expand the labor base in Davis and Weber counties, but also to retain it.

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