Annual Profiles

The Workforce Research and Analysis division has updated information in the county Annual Profiles.

The information available in these Annual Profiles are separated by county and state and include:

• quick facts
• nonfarm employment
• unemployment
• major employers
• population
• demographics
• income and wages
• construction
• gross taxable sales
• county rankings

This data is updated on an annual basis, and dates can be found at the bottom of each tab. To print any of the visualizations, see the instructions here. For more information about this data, contact your regional economist.

New County Pages

See our new County Pages, each with their own URL for easy bookmarking. Find labor market information that has been divided into counties and regions for a quick look at each area.

Also find a new look for the Current Economic Snapshots (Grand and San Juan). These are economic snapshots are a two-page look at the current information for labor force, sales, building and unemployment insurance for each county in Utah, and are updated monthly after the Employment Situation.

These can be accessed on the Utah Economic Data page or on the Labor Market page under the "County Snapshots" link.

County seeks Uintah’s feedback on new Book Cliffs road study

Grand County Council unanimously approved a letter asking the Uintah County Commission to perform a feasibility study for building a paved road linking the Vernal area to the Moab area. Historically, proposals to pave a road from Vernal to Moab have hit dead ends. Let’s keep in mind that this is still just a feasibility study, this doesn’t necessarily imply that the overall consensus for building a road is favorable, but it is a sign that interest in seriously reconsidering this issue may be gaining. Times Independent

Moab approves plan for townhomes

The Moab City Planning Commission has approved a concept plan for the construction of several new townhomes that will be located at 720 West 400 North, despite concerns from several members of the commission.

The Entrada at Moab Master Planned Development will include 45 townhomes, a clubhouse and a pool, according to Moab City Planning Director Jeff Reinhart. Reinhart said the plan includes private streets, additional landscaping and two-story tall buildings. Reinhart said he anticipates there will be nightly rentals in the development. Moab Times-Independent

Utah to get $900K federal grant to connect parks

Utah is set to get $900,000 in federal funds for the construction of a pathway to connect Moab to surrounding national parks and public lands in the eastern part of the state.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced the grant Monday as part of $12.5 million in federal money to improve access to national parks, forests and wildlife refuges.

A U.S. Department of Transportation statement says the grants will go toward 29 projects in 20 states.

Utah's share will go to Grand County to fund the continued construction of the Colorado Riverway Path. The pathway will join Moab with Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, the Colorado Riverway Recreation Area and other lands. Daily Herald

City OKs smaller residential lot sizes

The Moab City Council has given final approval to an ordinance allowing home construction on smaller lots.

Approved by a 4-1 vote Tuesday night, the ordinance allows minimum lot sizes of 5,000 square feet rather than the previous 7,200 square feet. It also reduces the maximum height of new homes from 40 feet to 30 feet.

Council members characterized it as a way to provide affordable housing within city limits. However, the issue became somewhat controversial over the past year, with some city residents saying during public hearings that the ordinance would negatively impact neighborhoods and possibly block solar access.

Council member Kyle Bailey explained during an interview that he is worried about the effects the ordinance will have on existing subdivisions. People who purchased homes in a neighborhood did so expecting a certain look, Bailey said. But homeowners are free to expand their houses under the revised ordinance, altering the appearance in a way other residents might not like, he said.

The ordinance goes into effect immediately for new residential construction, Peterson said.
Moab Times-Independent

Construction Begins on $9.2 Million Bike Path

One of the nation’s most bicycle friendly communities is about to become even more welcoming to those on two wheels.

Construction starts Monday on a $9.2 million project to build a transit hub at the intersection of U.S. 191 and state Route 128 as well as a multi-use path along the Colorado River adjacent to SR 128. The transit hub will include parking, shade shelters and restroom facilities.

When completed in late summer or fall of 2013, there will be an underpass for bicyclists to access an existing paved path into Moab along U.S. 191 without having to dodge traffic on SR 128, county officials said. The underpass will connect Lions Park on the north side of SR 128 with the new transit hub on the south side.

In addition, bicyclists funneling down from several trails in the Porcupine Rim area onto SR 128 won’t have to share the narrow road with vehicles. The project will provide elevated paths on the river side of the road to keep bikers and pedestrians safe along the first three miles of SR 128 to the Negro Bill Canyon trail head.

Schappert wrote the grant applications that secured federal funding for the entire project. No state or local funding is being used, she said.

The transit hub will have a parking area large enough to accommodate commercial shuttle buses and vans dropping off or picking up clients as well as parking for individual vehicles. As part of a different funding package, Lions Park will get a large restroom, more parking and a covered picnic area, according to the design plans.

While there may be some economic benefit to the community from the enhanced biking facilities, Grand County Council member Chris Baird emphasized that increased safety is the prime consideration. He said hundreds of mountain bikers ride down from Porcupine Rim each day during tourist seasons and they’ll no longer be in danger on SR 128.

Project engineer Ken Davis said elevated paths will not have to be constructed all along the almost three-mile stretch of SR 128 from U.S. 191 almost to Negro Bill Canyon. Instead, some areas with existing wide turnouts will be utilized as bike paths. But where there is no available space, the raised platforms he calls “pedestrian bridges” will be installed on concrete columns between the river and the road.

Schappert said Horrocks Engineers gave “extensive attention to aesthetics” in designing the project. The design includes guardrails, retaining walls and other infrastructure that blends in with the landscape, she said. Times-Independent

New Student Housing Underway at USU Eastern Blanding

The recent dedication of USU Eastern’s Blanding Campus Administration Building was done with the rumbling of heavy equipment in the air. Excavation is already underway for new and much-needed housing on the 600-student campus.

Front-end loaders are carving out a site that will eventually room up to 74 students and more than double housing capacity on the 150-acre campus of Utah State University-College of Eastern Utah. Plans are to start moving students in by spring of 2013. And it can’t come soon enough, said Kol Conway, housing and food services director.

The campus has experienced a housing overflow for the past four years. Early on it began to reach out to local motel owners to house students in their rooms.

USU Eastern uniquely draws some 65 percent of its student body from the nearby Navajo Reservation. “We have reached our capacity,” Wilson said. “Parents want their children to be able to live on campus, and we want them to be able to as well. There is tremendous value, particularly with freshmen students, having a positive campus life experience.”

Wilson said the campus has exceptional facilities and resources. Students who are able to live on campus stand the most to benefit from those offerings. And word has gotten out as the waiting list continues to grow.

The 17,200-square-foot building will break from tradition and consist, instead, of suites, common areas and kitchenettes. Housing units will either contain three or four bedroom units with two students per bedroom. Private room suites will also be available, Conway said. San Juan Record

In Utah, Affordable Green Homes Teach Green Build Skills

In Moab, Utah, interns from all over the world are gaining an education in people-powered, sustainable housing, while helping to put a green roof over the heads of low-income area residents. Community Rebuilds is a non-profit organization with a mission to build energy-efficient, affordable workforce housing through a volunteer-run program that also provides a basic education in straw bale construction for its worker interns. Call it the straw bale version of Habitat For Humanity.

Homeowners interested in having an old, inefficient or dilapidated home rebuilt through Community Rebuilds must meet a number of requirements. Their families must fall below the low income limits established by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and must reside within Grand County (Moab) or La Plata County (Durango). One member of the family must have had a full-time job in the area for at least two years, and applicants must be income and credit approved via a loan pre-qualification process. Community Rebuilds also works with landowners to construct new homes on similar terms.

During the process of construction, it’s not just interns who learn lessons in green building, but homeowners as well. Homeowners as well as staff members and volunteers get in on the act, working alongside one another to build the home — from foundation to finishes — in just four months. Building interns receive the most instruction on the process, however, working under licensed contractors and under the direction of natural building experts. According to Community Rebuilds, it is currently the only organization that provides this type of hands-on, green building instruction free of cost. Earth Techling

City approves changes to parking requirements for big box developments

Large-scale retail developments in Moab will have a few more options for parking design after the Moab City Council voted unanimously on June 12 to amend the city’s ordinance governing big box retail developments.

The new regulations will allow developers to locate up to 70 percent of parking spaces in the front of large-scale developments as long as additional requirements for landscaping and screening of parking areas are met, said Moab City Planning Director Jeff Reinhart. The original ordinance, passed in 2008, allowed only 30 percent of the parking spaces to be located in the front of the building and required the remaining 70 percent to be located on the sides and in the rear of the building, Reinhart said.

The Moab City Planning Commission began looking at possible changes to the parking requirements after the city was approached in 2009 by representatives of Diversified Partners LLC, an Arizona-based development company that has a contract for possible development of a 38-acre parcel of land located on the west side of U.S. 191 south of Moab near Mill Creek Drive. That property, currently owned by the Stroble Trust, is situated near the area where Utah State University plans to build a destination campus and was part of several parcels of land that were recently annexed into the Moab city limits. Moab Times- Independent

Growth in Blanding, despite challenges

Blanding is booming with new homes being built, new roads being constructed, and infrastructure (especially water) additions soon to be built.

The biggest single boost to the housing situation in Blanding is the Grayson Apartments complex. This mixed-use mini community just south of the college consists of 30 new one, two and three-bedroom living units. They will be completed in June and available for occupancy. The $5.6 million project is built by Color Country Community Housing of St. George. Architect is Harold Woodruff and the General Contractor is Kier Construction.

Starvation Reservoir north of Blanding is currently undergoing an $800,000 makeover, mostly to install a clay lining so water loss due to seepage is substantially decreased. Financing is through the USDA Rural Development. The contractor is S.S. Enterprises of Moab.  San Juan Record

UDOT plans I-15 work for summer

The Utah Department of Transportation is working to bring planned improvements to Interstate 15 in Iron County but say traffic impacts will be minimal overall and nonexistent during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

Kevin Kitchen, public information officer for UDOT's southern region, said the construction along I-15 is focusing on repaving and constructing wildlife fences.

"On the 15 we have about a 10-year makeover cycle," Kitchen said. This makeover cycle includes filling potholes, re-sealing the road surfaces and painting new traffic lines.

Kitchen said a project to apply a micro-surface seal coat to the freeway between Cedar City and Summit is nearly complete. The Spectrum

Plans for proposed dinosaur park move closer to reality

The proposed Moab Giants Dinosaur Park, slated for construction at the intersection of U.S. 191 and state Route 313, will include life-size dinosaur displays located along outdoor walking trails, an indoor museum and research facilities for scientists, developers told during a public hearing this week.

The applicants received approval for the project’s water and septic systems at the end of 2011 and Horrocks Engineers, which provides engineering services to Grand County, approved the project’s storm-water drainage system, according to documents provided by the Grand County planning commission. The Times-Independent

Construction set to begin on new clinic

Construction will begin soon on a new physician clinic adjacent to the San Juan Hospital after ground breaking ceremonies were held on December 8.

Construction crews, under the direction of Tri-Hurst / Hogan Construction, will begin work as soon as bonds are sold to help fund the project. It is expected that the Utah Community Impact Board will purchase $1,180,000 in Lease Revenue bonds this week.

Tri-Hurst is working toward a mid-October 2011 completion date for the 10,440 square foot, two-story clinic. It will feature a lobby, ten provider offices, ten examination rooms including two larger treatment rooms, and a small classroom for education programs. Eaton Architects designed the building. More than $1 million of the construction costs will be paid to local contractors and subcontractors. San Juan Record

Crucial river road’s collapse gives Moab economy jitters

Grand County and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management are scrambling to find emergency federal funds to rebuild the Mineral Bottom Road, which was washed out earlier this year. The road is an important river-running link and mountain bike route in Grand County. They applied to the Federal Highway Administration for emergency aid of $1.8 million to $2.5 million, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, sent the agency a letter backing the bid.

Highway officials have said the road, maintained by the county but crossing federal land, qualifies for an emergency funding program to aid federal highways. They haven’t yet approved the application, though. The BLM estimates the road supports 87 jobs and about $1.9 million in annual recreation sales. Salt Lake Tribune

Construction crews busy in Monticello

This year, more than one dozen city streets are being rebuilt in Monticello, with new drainage infrastructure and road base. The goal, according to City officials, is an additional 30 years of life for the streets. The project was made possible by the City, the Community Impact Board and the San Juan County Transportation District.

In addition to the road work, crews have been hard at work building a significant addition to the Pinto Substation east of Monticello.

Work continues on the construction of a new runway at the Monticello airport north of town. The new runway, on the east side of Highway 191, will eventually replace the current runway on the west side of the highway. San Juan Record

Road building in Monticello begins

On Tuesday, July 6, crews from the LeGrand Johnson Construction Company of Logan and Moab began rebuilding ten streets within the City of Monticello. Their first target is Second North from the highway to the elementary school. Installation of new sewer and water lines is part of the contract. Those streets which have infrastructure that should be replaced within a few years will have new utility lines installed concurrently with this road construction so that the new roads will not have to be dug up again. City officials state that roads built to the specifications called for in the contract should last for 30 years. The total contract is for $2,000,000. Funds came to the City from the CIB (Community Impact Board), with $1 million an interest free loan. The other million is a grant. San Juan Record

Huge electrical construction project beginning in Monticello

One of the biggest construction projects in San Juan County in years has started just east of Monticello at what is known as Rocky Mountain Power Company’s Pinto Substation. Easily visible just south of U. S. 491 as motorists exit Monticello headed east, this huge humming 345,000 volt behemoth which looks like a space station from another planet is being added upon to the tune of “many millions of dollars.” How much, the company would not officially say. But those in the know, estimate the addition to be in the neighborhood of $25 million. When completed in the spring of 2011, the addition will make the substation complex almost twice as big as it is now. The Pinto Substation east of Monticello is one of the ten largest in the state and handles all of southeastern Utah. San Juan Record

Monticello to have $2 million for roads

Monticello residents who have dealt with two years of road work should prepare for another summer of construction after the City of Monticello has secured $2 million for road construction. Approximately six months ago, the San Juan County Transportation District agreed to provide $100,000 a year for the next ten years to the cities of Monticello and Blanding. The City of Monticello used the agreement to leverage a $1 million loan and an additional $1 million grant from the Utah Permanent Community Impact Board. The loan will be paid with the funds from the transportation district. San Juan Record