From Deseret News archives:
Is Utah's success too much for economy?
However, a new survey of more than 100 businesses that have relocated or expanded in Utah during the past five years shows that those perceptions may be turning.
In fact, Utah's success in attracting new businesses and erasing old perceptions could backfire, according to a report commissioned by the Real Estate Professionals for Economic Development.
"The question is not can we and have we done a good job of recruiting businesses to Utah — because we certainly have — but have we done too much? Is the engine heating up too fast?" said Antonio Lima, an account manager at the Summit Group, a Salt Lake-based public relations firm that prepared the report.
According to Lima, the study revealed that site selectors are less interested in Utah's polygamous past and more concerned about finding enough employees.
Many respondents in the report expressed concern over Utah's record low unemployment rate — 2.6 percent in December.
"It's clearly a widespread problem," said Tom Bingham, president of the Utah Manufacturers Association. "Part of it is just simply that people are not there. Another part of it is there are folks out there, but they don't have the skills to take some of these jobs."
One respondent in the report said, "When we started looking in the Tooele area, the unemployment rate was around 8 or 9 percent. Now, the unemployment is in the 3 percent range. I don't know why any real estate guys would be trying to drum up more business in Utah. I mean, you don't have any workers to work. If unemployment is at 3 percent it might as well be zero."
Others expressed disappointment about trying to find quality employees. Some said that the state was sold to them as having a "ready, willing and able labor pool," but that no longer exists.
"Sure it's not easy to find workers, but it's ludicrous to ever think that we somehow won't have this ongoing pipeline of labor," said Kelly Matthews, executive vice president and economist with Wells Fargo in Salt Lake City. "I don't think there is any state in the country that even remotely can match our labor force growth year after year after year."
Bill Martin, managing partner of Commerce CRG, said another concern expressed by out-of-state employers was the lack of interest by Utah workers to work overtime.
"We have a great employment base," Martin said. "But they tend to like to work only eight to five. They don't like to work overtime because that is cutting into their outdoor activities."
