Utah’s economy remains steadier than national trends; experts monitoring key sectors

SALT LAKE CITY — The end of the federal government shutdown in November means backlogged economic data is being gathered again, with the latest round showing Utah’s indicators are remaining steadier than national indicators.

“Utah continues to perform relatively well compared to national trends, with consumer sentiment in Utah holding steadier than in much of the U.S.,” Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Utah Chamber, said in a statement. “With federal data reporting now back online, business leaders will be better positioned to monitor evolving conditions and make more sound data-driven decisions as the economic outlook continues to take shape.”

Utah’s November consumer sentiment rose 3.4% to a value of 75.8, significantly higher than the national average of 51, according to the Salt Lake Chamber and Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s November 2025 Roadmap to Prosperity Economic Dashboard. Nationally, sentiment fell by 4.9%, reaching its lowest level since June 2022.

The dashboard showed Utah’s September unemployment rate crept up to 3.4% from 3.3% in August. That rate still puts the state below the U.S. average, which increased from 4.3% in August to 4.4% in September.

Looking at the data more closely, Gardner Institute Director Natalie Gochnour said job growth in health care and government makes her “uncomfortable” when it outpaces other sectors.

“There’s a common thread with health services and government, and that is that they are predominantly paid for by all the other sectors, right? So in our country, the majority of health expenditures, health insurance, is through employer-sponsored health insurance. Of course, government is paid for through taxes that come from other industries, other people. And so whenever government and health are leading the way, it causes me some concern,” Gochnour said.

Going forward, Gochnour said she’ll have her eye on Utah’s construction, tech and manufacturing sectors.

“On the flip side, if construction is our fastest-growing industry, that signals to me growth and investment. Same thing with manufacturing, if it’s growing faster, it signals to me that we’re building things, we’re doing things for the future. Similarly, with tech, particularly in our state, because of the size of the tech sector,” she said.

She’ll also be paying extra attention to Utah’s tourism sector, an area she said has been struggling recently.

According to the institute’s most recent jobs report, year-over-year job growth in leisure and hospitality is “for all practical purposes, at zero growth.”

“Our tourism sector is a vital part of Utah’s prosperity. I want to see the hotel and accommodation sector, the food services, you know, the national parks, our skier visits, all those things picking up,” Gochnour said.

The full dashboard can be found here.