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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's consumer sentiment rose to the highest level it's been in over a year during June, coming in at 76.3, according to a survey from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
The mark also represents growth from May, when the consumer sentiment was 71. Utah's increasing consumer sentiment is part of a nationwide rise, with a similar survey by the University of Michigan showing that consumer sentiment for Americans as a whole is at 64.4 in June, up from 59.2 in May.
"The Utah economy continues to demonstrate resiliency with low unemployment and strong job growth," said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Gardner Institute. "This economic performance coupled with an interest rate hike pause and slowing inflation contribute to the highest level of Utah consumer sentiment in more than a year."
The Utah Department of Workforce Services' May employment summary revealed that the state's nonfarm payroll employment for May increased an estimated 2.9% across the past 12 months, with the state's economy adding a cumulative 48,900 jobs over the same time span, bringing Utah's current job count to 1,727,100.
Additionally, the unemployment rate is "rock bottom low" at 2.3% with 42,000 Utahns classified as unemployed. This is in stark contrast to the national unemployment rate, which has grown to 3.7% since April.
All of these factors have contributed to the rise in consumer sentiment.
To calculate Utah's consumer sentiment, the Gardner Institute survey used five questions from the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers concerning residents' current and expected future economic conditions.
"Two of these questions refer to business or economic conditions in the country as a whole (rather than in one's home state, for example). We supplement these two questions with alternative versions that refer to the state of Utah rather than the country as a whole," according to the report from the Gardner Institute.
The questions and responses are pictured below.
Full survey results, including survey methodology, can be found here.
