Index shows business conditions improving in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's business conditions improved in April, thanks to new orders and an increase in production and sales.

The Goss Institute for Economic Research said Monday that Utah's Business Conditions Index was 58.9 in April, up from March's 55.9 and February's 55.8.

The index ranges from zero to 100, with a figure higher than 50 indicating an expansionary economy during the next three to six months. The institute obtains the information from a survey of the state's supply managers.

In addition to orders, and production and sales activity, the institute looks at inventories and employment. Ernie Goss, director of the institute and of Creighton University's Economic Forecasting Group, found employment has remained lukewarm in Utah.

"Manufacturing firms have yet to increase hiring to any great extent," Goss said in a prepared statement. "On the other hand, value-added service companies are adding to their payrolls in the state."

The overall Mountain States index — which includes Colorado, Utah and Wyoming — was 58.8 in April, just a tenth of a percentage point lower than Utah's. In March it was 56.6, and in February it was 58.6. Regionally, manufacturing and value-added service sectors are pushing the economy ahead.

"This leading economic activity will continue to push overall economic growth for the three-state region higher through the third quarter of 2010," Goss said. "Government data show that regional employment was virtually flat for the first quarter of 2010. I expect job additions for the second quarter of 2010 to be positive but still below what is normal for an economy in recovery."

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