Local economy not experiencing slowdown like rest of country
The general slowdown in the country’s economic growth has consumers nervous about the future – but Cache Valley residents should stay optimistic, say local business leaders and economists.
“Macro economics on the news don’t necessarily apply to smaller areas,” said Christopher Fawson, associate professor of economics at Utah State University.
The general health of an area’s economy is reflected by unemployment rates, job growth and income levels – all of which are healthy and stable in Cache County, said Bobbie Coray, CEO of the Cache Chamber of Commerce.
Utah’s unemployment rate, 3.5 percent, is .8 percent lower than the national unemployment rate of 4.3 percent, and Cache County’s unemployment rate, 2.2 percent, is the lowest in the state.
The state of the national economy has a trickle-down effect, said Lyle Ward, economic development specialist with the Department of Workforce Services in Logan.
“But in the past the trickle-down effect hasn’t been as deep or lasted as long,” he said.
USU is the largest employer in the area, with more than 5,000 employees, and doesn’t expect the economic slowdown to cause layoffs, said Mardyne Matthews, supervisor of employment for Personel Services at USU.
The last time a recession forced the university to cut back on programs and lay off support personnel was in 1986, and even then every person laid off was placed in another job.
ICON fitness, the second-largest employer in the area, saw a dramatic increase in sales from last year and is in good shape, said Jayme Shepherd, public relations manager for the company.
This is the picture people need to keep in mind, Fawson said. Though the nation’s economy has slowed dramatically, the situation is what it is. If people have jobs, they have jobs.
“I always tell my students that for me, the unemployment rate is zero or one,” he said. “Either I’m employed or I’m not.”
Consumer confidence – how comfortable people are with spending money instead of saving it – is down throughout the state, reflecting the national trend, said Thayne Robeson, director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
Pessimism about the national economy can actually lead to a recession, Fawson said.
“If you think times are bad, you’re going to put your money under the mattress,” Fawson said. “And by doing that and not spending, you’re going to hurt businesses.”
For all the coverage the slowdown has recieved, the country isn’t in a recession – which is defined as at least two quarters of negative growth in the gross national product.
The rate of growth has declined drastically, causing the recent scare, but should stabilize in 2001, according to the 2001 Economic report to the Governor for Utah.
The best thing students can do is become educated in economics and follow the media reports with an understanding of what the numbers really mean to them, Fawson said.