ST. GEORGE — Southern Utah's booming economy is producing more than profit for various business owners — it's also creating a serious shortage of qualified employees, according to information presented at the Washington County Economic Summit Wednesday in St. George.

"Our immediate challenge is the ability to hire and retain over 100 employees needed for our start-up operation," said Bill Wright, vice president of Viracon Inc., a commercial glass fabrication business now building a massive factory in the Ft. Pierce Industrial Park.

"With the low unemployment rate here, it's a real challenge."

More than 850 people registered for the sold-out event held yearly at the Dixie Center. Presentations included updates on a local planning effort called Vision Dixie, sessions on commercial and residential real estate and data culled from recent economic and demographic reports.

Also seeking employees is Milliken, a textile and chemical company that opened a plant in St. George last year, and St. George Truss Co. Inc., which is building a new facility on 20 acres in the Ft. Pierce Industrial Park.

According to Jeff Thredgold of Salt Lake-based Thredgold Economic Associates, unemployment in St. George was at a low 3.5 percent in 2005, while year-over-year job growth created an estimated 4,300 new jobs for a 10 percent increase. Estimates through the end of 2006 show job growth at 8.5 percent and unemployment at 2.6 percent, while 2007 is expected to show a slightly lower unemployment rate at 2.5 percent.

Washington County regional economist Lecia Parks Langston noted in her presentation that the area's population grew by 6 percent in 2006, putting the county in the number one spot on the Utah Populations Estimate Committee report.

The average wage is up about 10 percent for the first half of 2006, making it the highest expansion in wage growth measured in at least 25 years, Langston said.

Housing permits in the county were down 42 percent through the end of October 2006, with values also sliding 31 percent. Although the number of homes sold dropped by 30 percent from the third quarter of 2005 to the same quarter of 2006, Langston said the average home price continued to hover between $300,000 and $340,000.

Vardel Curtis, president of the Washington County Board of Realtors, said the slowdown in home sales is caused by hyper-inflated prices.

"The equalization in the market is a much-needed adjustment as it begins to right itself after years of unprecedented and unsustainable growth," Curtis said in his presentation on residential real estate.

Nonresidential construction, on the other hand, is posting strong gains and was up 57 percent through October 2006. Gross taxable sales were up 17 percent for the first half of 2006.

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com