Boom or bust: the face of the recession in rural Utah.

AuthorWebb, Gaylen
PositionFocus

Trying to pull onto Highway 40 from a side street in downtown Vernal is getting tougher these days, thanks to all of the traffic. That might seem like a problem to some people, but Tammie Lucero thinks it's a harbinger of a resurging Uintah County economy.

"Highway 40 isn't as busy as it was several years ago, but it is getting busier, and that's a good sign," she says.

As economic development executive director of Uintah County, it's Lucero's job to keep her finger on the county's economic pulse. While economists don't usually factor traffic congestion into jobs data, key figures support Lucero's hope that the worst of the recession is over in Uintah County

Other rural Utah counties are improving, too. In fact, three counties rank among the top 50 in the nation for job growth from October 2007 through October 2009: Uintah, Duchesne and Grand counties. Employment in Uintah County has increased 9.1 percent since December 2007. Duchesne County has a similar story, sporting a job increase of 11 percent for the same period. The biggest employment increase, however, was in Grand County, which added 1,315 jobs--a 31.1 percent increase--since December 2007.

Overall, rural Utah has seen a 5 percent increase in jobs in the last two years, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But not all of Utah's rural counties are feeling so fortunate. In truth, the face of the recession--and economic recovery--changes in rural Utah as fast as the landscape. From counties in the southwest corner of the state to Box Elder and Rich Counties on the north, economic recovery has proven elusive.

Disappearing Jobs

Box Elder County was hammered first by the closure of the La-Z-Boy factory in Tremonton, and then by massive layoffs at aerospace giant Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and other manufacturing and construction businesses integral to the economy. In fact, Box Elder County lost 11 percent of its jobs between December 2008 and December 2009. Unemployment is now hovering around 9 percent.

"I don't know that we have seen the end of the recession yet," says Brigham City Community and Economic Development Director Paul Larsen, who is leading an effort to develop an economic development strategic plan that would evaluate key economic inducers in the county, which could be enhanced to support local industries and help them add jobs. Such a strategic plan could cost $100,000, depending on its breadth, he estimates, but that would be well worth the expense.

Jobs have also evaporated in tiny Rich County, falling 12.8 percent between December 2008 and December 2009. But nowhere has the recession and subsequent bust been more painful than in Washington County, where unemployment is well above the state average and banks are still taking a bath...

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