The Salt Lake Chamber, in partnership with the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, has released the March 2025 Roadmap to Prosperity Economic Dashboard to inform business leaders’ understanding of Utah’s economy. This tool prioritizes key data on the state’s economic outlook and actionable context for decision-makers.
“As economic uncertainty continues, Utah’s labor markets are responding to the pressure with strength,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “Even with steep declines in both Utah and U.S. consumer sentiment, employment growth in Utah demonstrates our resiliency and ability to adapt to shifting economic conditions. Moving forward, we can prepare for additional changes and unease by remaining attentive to repercussions of applicable policies and seeking ways to continually innovate and promote growth.”
Three essential insights from the March 2025 Roadmap to Prosperity Dashboard include:
- Labor markets continue moderating, yet Utah’s remains stronger than most states. Despite continued moderation in labor markets nationally, Utah’s February employment growth ranked 4th highest among states, while its unemployment rate ranked 11th lowest. Ongoing economic uncertainty continues to weigh on labor markets both in Utah and nationwide.
- Utah and U.S. consumers feel more uneasy, with Utah’s sentiment falling 8.0% and U.S. sentiment declining 11.9% in March. Consumer unease continues to rise, with national consumer sentiment reaching its lowest level since November 2022. Consistent with historical trends, Utahns remained more optimistic, though economic and policy-related uncertainties weigh on confidence both locally and nationwide.
- Utah’s labor force participation rate returns near pre-pandemic levels after rising throughout recent labor market shortages. After rising in response to labor shortages, Utah’s labor force participation rate began declining in 2023 and continued to edge downward throughout 2024 and into 2025. The U.S. labor force participation rate remains below pre-pandemic levels, in part due to aging demographics.
The Dashboard is updated monthly, providing essential insights, tracking timely and leading measures, and sharing pertinent indicators. This provides leaders with critical and timely information to make informed decisions.
“While Utah’s labor market continues to demonstrate resilience, ranking among the top states for employment growth, there are signs of moderation and consumer unease,” said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. “Utah has the strongest economy in the nation and is favorably positioned to weather a slowdown, but decision-makers must remain vigilant in the face of ongoing economic uncertainties and federal policy shifts that weigh on confidence locally and nationwide.”
To view the Roadmap to Prosperity Dashboard, click here.
ABOUT THE SALT LAKE CHAMBER
The Salt Lake Chamber is Utah’s largest and longest-serving business association. A statewide chamber of commerce with members in all 29 Utah counties, the Chamber represents the broad interests of the state’s 63,000- plus employers, which employ more than 1.4 million Utahns. This includes thousands of Chamber members and their employees. With roots that date back to 1887, the Chamber stands as the voice of business, supports its members’ success and champions community prosperity.
ABOUT THE KEM C. GARDNER POLICY INSTITUTE
The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute serves Utah by preparing economic, demographic, and public policy research that helps the state prosper. We are Utah’s demographic experts, leaders in the Utah economy, and specialists in public policy and survey research. We are an honest broker of INFORMED RESEARCH, which guides INFORMED DISCUSSIONS and leads to INFORMED DECISIONS™. For more information, please visit gardner.utah.edu or call 801-587-3717.
