Salt Lake Chamber President and CEO Lane Beattie was a guest on KSL News Radio’s Doug Wright Show this morning, discussing the open letter on immigration the Chamber sent to our federal delegation. The letter also ran as a full page ad in both the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News.
At the Capitol Club meeting held at Vivint in Provo this morning, we heard remarks from David Golden, he’s the chairman of the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors and, for his day job, he’s the Executive Vice President and Manager of Wells Fargo Commercial Banking’s Mountain Division.
He discussed the importance of embracing change, including technological advancements, as well as never being afraid to ask for help, competing with class and building a strong network.
His complete comments can be heard in the podcast below or on iTunes.
PODCAST: David Golden Capitol Club
From the beginning of the Great Recession, Utah has been the exception to the rule when it comes to the national economic landscape. Today, our unemployment rate is nearly two full points below the national level (7.4 percent vs. 9.2 percent) and Utah’s year-over non-farm job growth is more than twice as high as the nation as a whole.
So what’s the issue? We still have an unacceptably high number of Utahns who want to be in the workforce who can’t find the job they’re looking for. For those 101,000-plus people, the recovery is anything but a reality.
Eight months ago, the Salt Lake Chamber presented a private sector, 10-point plan to create 150,000 jobs over the next five years. That number would bring Utah back to full employment. This plan, known as the Utah Jobs Agenda, shows we’re on pace to hit our first year projection.
So are we charging forward or is the recovery still on rocky ground?
Salt Lake Chamber Chief Economist Natalie Gochnour joins us on The Bottom Line to discuss Utah’s relation the U.S. economy, Standard & Poor’s math errors and the impact of the recent debt limit debate on our recovery.
PODCAST: Utah Exceptionalism Can’t Last Forever
The Salt Lake Chamber Capitol Club learned from some experts on the Utah caucus system at the annual retreat held today at Workers Compensation Fund.
We got some great information at the Captiol Club retreat this morning. LaVarr Webb, partner at the Exoro Group, Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics and Senator Pat Jones provided shared some important insight on candidate selection and elections in our state.
The big takeaway? Increasing participation across the state is key to making the system work the way it is designed to work.
Webb and Jowers sat down to discuss the caucus system. Here’s the link to the podcast. You can also find it on iTunes. We encourage you to subscribe to our channel for more great insight from Utah business and community leaders.
Salt Lake City is ranked fourth among the top cities for young professionals in a list published by Forbes today.
Utah’s capital city is lauded for, “A large number of small businesses per capita, a high concentration of banks and good paychecks mean the ‘Crossroads of the West’ offers opportunity to young professionals.”
Salt Lake City was ranked behind Des Moines, Iowa; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Madison, Wisconsin.
For more information, read the full article here.
To hear the Chamber comment on the ranking on KSL Newsradio, CLICK HERE.
Forbes also points out that Salt Lake City has job growth of 1.32 percent, that’s the second highest rate among the top five cities on the list. Big name companies like Goldman Sachs, Twitter and Adobe have all invested significantly in Salt Lake City. You can see a list of some of the businesses hiring HERE.
Young professionals are attracted to Salt Lake City for a number of reasons: high tech companies are growing here and there’s no shortage of outdoor activities like hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, or enjoying the Greatest Snow on Earth.
Let’s not forget that younger professionals are often prefer time with their iPads and smartphones than time behind the wheel. Our first-rate transit system is a draw not to be underestimated.
Our investment in technology is paying off. The creation of the Utah Science Technology and Research (better knows as USTAR) attracts top talent, as well as and more than $130 million in capital funding to benefit more than 80 companies started in the past four years. Last year the University of Utah surpassed MIT and every other school in the nation for the highest number of research-produced start-ups.
Utah has always benefitted from a well-educated, young population. If there is reason for concern it’s the relatively low rate of college graduates in Salt Lake City (just 29.7 percent according to Fortune, more than 11 points lower than the three cities we trail on the list). That number needs to increase to ensure we have the professionals to fill the jobs we are creating. Business leaders understand education is the key to enduring prosperity and they have set a goal to have two-thirds of all Utahns hold a college degree or certificate by the year 2020. You can learn more about the efforts of Prosperity 2020 by clicking HERE.
It’s difficult to express just how excited we are at the Chamber when we think about the new TRAX and FrontRunner lines going in along the Wasatch Front with two of the new TRAX lines set to open in August.
Utah’s investment in public transit benefits the entire state whether you ride FrontRunner, TRAX, buses or just enjoy the free-flowing traffic with fewer cars on the road.
AUDIO: Chamber Business Minute July 2011-UTA rankings
UTA recently received two more national recognitions. The Brookings Institute released a report ranking UTA in the Salt Lake area number three in the nation for transit agencies that effectively connect people and jobs. The report went beyond Salt Lake City, with the Provo-Orem area ranking ninth and the Ogden-Clearfield area coming in eleventh out of the top 100 metro areas included in the study.
Just a few days later, the Urban Land Institute released a report praising UTA and the Salt Lake metro area for keeping up with investments in transportation infrastructure. The report praises the Salt Lake City region for moving critical transportation projects forward, especially during recent economic challenges when many communities began falling behind.
These reports – in addition to the #2 ranking UTA received from US News & World Report a few months ago – truly recognize the vision shown by our elected officials and community stakeholders in continuing to support transportation investment, particularly the current FrontLines 2015 program, as well as UTA’s success in delivering major projects ahead of schedule and under budget.
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