Record year for Utah

Record job growth, record low unemployment and record housing values helped push Utah to a record performance in 2006.

And a great economy, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday, means the state can invest record tax revenues into education and infrastructure.

Income tax collections grew 18.3 percent in fiscal year 2006, according to the 2007 Economic Report to the Governor, presented Thursday. The state ended the year with a budget surplus of $308.4 million after distributions to various funds.

"The revenue coming into the state is nearly twice the highest rate we've seen in the last 25 years," said Robert Spendlove, chief economist to the governor. "Pretty much all of our indicators are at record levels — exports, defense spending, they are all at record levels."

At 5.2 percent, Utah's job growth rate was the second highest in the nation. The state's unemployment rate of 3.3 percent was the second lowest in the country. And the value of new residential and non-residential construction reached an all-time high of $7.6 billion in 2006.

Spendlove said his counterpart in Michigan recently told him that he would gladly trade Michigan's problems for Utah's challenges.

"Michigan is seeing employment losses. It's seeing population losses," Spendlove said. "Its auto sector is in free-fall. The East and the Midwest are losing manufacturing jobs. And while some of those jobs are going overseas, a lot of those jobs are coming to Utah."

Utah's high fertility rate is partially responsible for the state's growing young work force. The fertility rate — which represents the average number of children expected to be born to a woman during her lifetime — stands at about 2.5 children for Utah women and 2 children for the U.S. average.

Utah created nearly 60,000 jobs in 2006, outpacing the year's 52,368 births. Net migration totaled nearly 29,000 people.

On the tourism side, Utah captured about 7 percent of the national market's skier visits. Utah reported a total of 4.1 million skier days during the 2005-2006 winter season.

"It was a record in 2006, and we are absolutely delighted with what it's doing to the repeat customers," said Leigh von der Esch, director of the state's Office of Tourism. "If you looked at any of the numbers over the holiday season this year, they are up again."