Hot spot: Southern Utah's economy and recreation shine.

• Author: Hafen, Lyman
• Position: Regional Report: Southern Utah

Television viewers who catch the weather report have grown accustomed to seeing a bright yellow sun plastered over the weather map of southwestern Utah. Even in the dead of winter, when a temperature inversion has the Wasatch Front pinned beneath a blanket of haze, there seems always to be a bright spot in Utah's Dixie. These days, the region is also one of the state's brightest economic spots.

DAVID CLARK, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT of Zions Bank in St. George and a member of the Utah state House of Representatives, enjoys his daily phone calls to colleagues in Salt Lake City, especially in winter. "This morning," he relates, "I was talking to a friend in Salt Lake. He said it was 20 degrees outside and the entire valley was shrouded in fog. I looked out my office window and saw people walking down the street in shirt sleeves and realized the only thing in that bright clear air was golf balls." Clark draws the same parallel to Utah's economy. "Over the past year," he says, "I believe our economy here in Washington County has been better than anywhere in the state."

In fact, it has. While employment growth in the state overall has been fiat, Washington County has seen a marked increase in jobs. Second quarter 2002 figures reveal that 269 jobs were added in construction; 403 in trade, transportation and utilities; in financial activities; 338 in professional and business services; 335 in education, health and social services; 248 in government; and 216 in other services. Unemployment in the county is virtually nonexistent.

The county's job growth, of course, is directly related to population growth. Although the county represents only four percent of Utah's total population, in the last decade it represented over eight percent of the total population increase. The phenomenal growth rate has fueled an economy that seems insulated from state and national trends. In each of the past three decades, the population of Washington County has increased nearly 90 percent. The population of St. George itself currently stands at just over 50,000, and the county's population is now pushing 100,000.

"In the past year, our economy hasn't grown the way we are accustomed to it growing," says Scott Hirschi, director of the Washington County Economic Development Council, "but it is still very positive." He cites growth in retail development, home sales, employment, and wages and salaries as bright indicators of the area's economic health. "We've become used to explosive growth in this area," he said. "I believe a little less fuel is a positive thing for us now."

"One of the most important things we have going for us," Hirschi continues, "is the fact that 17 percent of our population is made up of retired people. Their stable incomes play a great role in stabilizing our economy. Because we don't have a dominant employer (the largest private employer represents just two percent of the workforce), we're not largely affected if one industry or one segment of the economy is struggling. We're not a company town, and this diversity helps keep us consistently stable."

The county's top 10 employers, in number of employees, are, from one to 10: The Washington County School...