Utah job picture shows improvement

SALT LAKE CITY — A rise in national employment is pointing to some positive results for Utah small businesses.

The Zions Bank Small Business Index for Utah jumped to 95.9 in March, up from a revised 91.6 in February.

The strongest U.S. job gain in three years was seen as one more sign of renewed national economic growth, ultimately a positive development for Utah's small businesses, according to Kendall Oliphant, senior vice president at Thredgold Economic Associates who compiled the data for the report.

"We do have evidence that Utah job growth is improving," Oliphant told the Deseret News. "The gain in March marks six consecutive months of improvement in the small-business index."

The index measures business conditions from the viewpoint of the Utah small-business owner or manager. A higher index number is associated with more-favorable business conditions. The index uses 100.0 for calendar year 1997 as its base year.

Factors that are moving the index higher include stronger economic performance in the Rocky Mountain region, as well as across the U.S. and around the globe, Oliphant stated.

"In addition, the pace of Utah job losses is slowing, and we anticipate monthly employment gains to be reported by summer," Oliphant said.

Utah's unemployment rate was estimated at 7.1 percent in the latest month, up from the revised 6.9 percent rate in the prior month. Total Utah employment fell an estimated 27,700 jobs during the past 12 months.

In contrast, the U.S. economy gained an estimated 162,000 net new jobs in March. However, the national unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent in March.

"Utah follows fairly close to what happens across the U.S.," Oliphant said.

He stated that job growth would likely be the trend in the Beehive State in the very near future.

"We anticipate (year-over-year employment) to turn positive in the next few months," he said.

e-mail: jlee@desnews.com