Local Insights and Utah Insights updated on the Web

The Fall 2012 issues of Local Insights has been updated on the web.

This edition focuses on the most recent recession and the long-term unemployed.

The statewide edition includes a feature article on Unemployment Insurance Outcomes in Utah.

To see more, click here.









To receive a copy, call 801-526-9785

Continued Drought Could End Farming Tradition

Lee Ray Sorensen once told his sons Mark and Neil that the groundwater ditch that ran alongside their hay and cattle farm would always have enough water to feed their fields. The brothers can now stick half of the length of their arms into cracks between the dried mud where that water used to be. With all of Utah’s 29 counties now declared drought disaster areas, the Sorensen brothers near Spring City in northern Sanpete County are not the only farmers who have seen this season’s hopes dry up and become dusty before their eyes.

Since October 2011, only 17.2 inches of rain has fallen on northern Sanpete County, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That is just over half of the previous water year's 32.5 inches.

While many farmers throughout the state, including Utah County farmers, have been able to fall back on water storage and reservoirs, the farmers in the Sanpete Valley have little to no water storage to draw from for their crops and livestock. The natural springs and runoff from the mountains that usually supply the region fell short this year after last winter's lessened contribution in spring snow melt. Daily Herald

Utah hotel occupancy, rates up slightly

Utah occupancy and average daily room rate for hotels and motels were both up slightly in 2011. According to the Utah edition of the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report, the 2011 occupancy rate was 62.7 percent, up from 59.7 percent in 2010.

The average daily room rate for the year to date was $95.69, compared to $93.29 for 2010. Revenue per daily room rose as well, from $55.70 in 2010 compared to $60.04 for 2011. Salt Lake City recorded the best in 2011, with a 69.6 percent occupancy rate and average daily room rate of $93.65.

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Ogden occupancy was at 60.7 percent, Cedar City at 53 percent, St. George at 60.1 percent, Logan and Utah County at 58.1 percent, and other Utah cities and towns at 61.2 percent. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah home sales up in October

Utah home sales rose for the fifth straight month in October — up nearly 25 percent from last year, according to a new report from the Utah Association of Realtors. During the month, Utah Realtors sold 2,819 homes, townhomes and condos compared to 2,261 sales last year. It was the fourth consecutive month of double-digit sales increase. Since the beginning of the year, Utah home sales are up over 7 percent compared to the same 10-month period in 2010.

The month's inventory in Uintah County is 4.6 months and prices are up nearly 14 percent, a release states. Similarly, in Washington County, the month's supply is 6.5 months and the median price has increased about 11 percent from last October. Statewide, the number of homes on the market has come down more than 21 percent over the past year — the fewest amount of homes on the market since mid-2007 and the eighth consecutive month of double-digit declines. In October, the median price of homes sold in Utah was $174,750, down 3.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

In addition to Uintah and Washington counties, several other areas saw increasing prices, including Emery, Grand, Juab, Morgan and San Juan counties. The median price in Weber County stayed nearly the same, coming in at $139,500 compared to $137,990 last October. Deseret News

Hotels see boost in May

Utah hotels saw a nice little bump in business last month, especially compared with May 2009. Typically a slow travel period, May of last year was even worse than usual, with hotel occupancies across Utah dropping to less than 55 percent each night.

But this May, hotels statewide were 59 percent full on a nightly basis. The average daily room rate did not increase commensurately, but pretty much held steady.

Although occupancy was up 4 percent, the statewide room rate could not keep pace. Still, it rose about $1.50, to $86.70 nightly last month, according to figures from the Denver-based Rocky Mountain Lodging Report. The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Hotel Occupancy

Hotels statewide generally filled more rooms last month than in May 2009 (in parenthesis):

Salt Lake County » 66.3 percent (59.4)
Ogden » 68.5 (67.2)
Davis County » 68.3 (68.0)
St. George » 59.0 (54.4)
Utah County » 58.9 (55.0)
Logan » 52.3 (37.4)
Cedar City » 46.5 (51.9)
Mountain resorts » 24.9 (25.7)
Rest of Utah » 71.4 (68.3)
Total » 59 (54.9)

Source » Rocky Mountain Lodging Report

National park visits boom amid recession

Despite the recession, or perhaps because of it, 286 million visitors flocked to national parks last year, an increase of 10 million people. Utah's national park units attracted just over 9 million visitors during the year, up by 300,000. In Utah, Zion National Park attracted the most visitors of any park unit in the state: 2.7 million, up by 45,000. That set a new all-time visitation record. Zion also ranked No. 7 in visitation among parks nationwide. Elsewhere in Utah, park visit increases and decreases varied widely. Remote Rainbow Bridge National Monument attracted the biggest increase by percentage — 18.7 percent, or a jump of nearly 18,000 visitors. The biggest decrease was at Cedar Breaks National Monument, where visitation dropped by 8.5 percent or by nearly 46,000 people. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Lake Powell) attracted the second-most visits of any park unit in the state: 1.96 million visitors, up just 13,000 from the previous year. Bryce Canyon National Park attracted 1.2 million, up by a booming 16.6 percent.Arches National Park attracted 996,312 visitors, up 7.3 percent; Capitol Reef National Park attracted 617,208 visitors, up 2 percent; Canyonlands National Park attracted 436,241, nearly unchanged from 2008; and Dinosaur National Monument attracted 203,862, up 1 percent. Also, Timpanogos Cave National Monument attracted 138,571 visitors, up 12 percent; Natural Bridges National Monument attracted 92,023, nearly unchanged from 2008; Golden Spike National Historic Site had 45,334. The Deseret News