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.

Ogden, Provo and Salt Lake City named top cities for career and family

An interactive map from Improvement Center rates the best cities to live in for 35 different categories. Some of the categories include: best holiday spirit, best for couples, best for women, low-stress, best for young professionals, most-caffeinated, most tax friendly and highest paying jobs.

Improvement Center lists Ogden at No. 5 in the category of highest median income.

Other Utah cities placed in the categories of best place to raise a family and best for business and careers. On the family list, Provo is third and Ogden is eighth. For best careers, Provo is first and Ogden sixth. Salt Lake City is also the fourth-best city for young professionals.

To view the map, visit ImprovementCenter.com

Deseret News

Volunteers working to count Utah’s homeless

Volunteers across the state are hitting the streets, looking to count the number of homeless in Utah.

In 2012, the Department of Workforce Services estimated 16,522 people experienced homelessness in Utah. Dozens of volunteers throughout the state will try and see if those numbers have decreased.

Weber Housing Authority Director Andi Watkins coordinates the Point-In-Time Count in Weber County. The survey is conducted on the same day, January 30, every year. Watkins says the date is significant because it’s marked as the coldest day of the year.

The majority of homeless individuals are in shelters, but volunteers go anywhere they think homeless individuals may stay. The numbers they collect go to the state and help determine how much state and federal funds communities get for housing programs.

Watkins says most of the homeless individuals are glad to participate, knowing that the agencies are looking for ways to help them get a roof over their heads. Fox13 News

Solving Utah's Dismal Graduation Rate

Utah is the fourth-worst state in the nation for graduating Latino students, with just 57 percent of seniors collecting a diploma each year.

The sobering numbers, better than only Minnesota, Nevada and Washington, D.C., and first reported last week, were called disappointing and unacceptable by Gov. Gary Herbert as he cited poverty levels and language barriers as contributors to the low performance.

But at least two programs both inside and outside the state of Utah could provide a template for how to increase the number of high school graduates, particularly in the minority communities that lag far behind other states.

The schools have successfully increased graduation rates and student performance by offering incentives for good attendance, requiring extended class time for struggling students and using in-depth analysis of assessment data to track and target individual at-risk children.

In many cases, these programs are coupled with sweeping administrative and faculty changes that officials say help create a new atmosphere of learning, and it's done without a large outlay of new money.

Minority graduation rates in Utah have steadily increased each year, but the state continues to lag behind the nation and public schools are expected to become more diverse. Utah's 137,647 minority students account for 23 percent of the state's public education population, according to the Utah State Office of Education, and are growing at more than double the rate of the state as a whole.

Schools around the country have tried various methods of targeting their at-risk student populations and while progress has been slow, gains have been made. Richard Fry, a senior researcher with the Pew Hispanic Center, said that more than three-fourths of Hispanic adults ages 18 to 24 have a high school diploma or GED, a benchmark reached last year.

In Ogden School District, one of the most diverse and historically low-performing school districts in the state, a focus on improved attendance and the use of individual student data-tracking, as well as district-wide administrative shakeups, has resulted in marked improvements in student proficiency and graduation rates.
Between the 2010-11 and 2011-12 academic years, the graduation rate at Ben Lomond High School increased from 78 percent to 81 percent. Ben Lomond's sister school, Ogden High School, saw even greater gains, jumping 11 percentage points from 77 percent to 88 percent.

The reason: They are focusing on getting kids to class, including providing incentives for keeping them there.
Both schools graduate roughly 98 percent of their senior students who attend class. Both schools are also evenly split between white and Hispanic students and a majority of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Maureen Kopecky, Ogden High head counselor said in the past there was little consequence for a student arriving late, or not at all, to class. Now, she said, students have responded to the incentives —and some punitive measures — and in the process have figured out that it's easier to pass their classes when they actually attend.

The schools also rely heavily on student tracking data, part of a district-wide effort that has seen the halls and classrooms of Ogden School District decorated with graphs and tables tracking performance and attendance.

It's a common problem, as grade configurations often mean students begin falling off track in junior high. After the success of their senior Hot Lists, Ogden School District asked junior high schools to make freshman lists as well, and counselors from feeder and upper level schools work together to get students back on track and to stop them from falling off in the first place.

John Jesse, director of assessment and accountability for the State Office of Education, said the transition from middle to high school is a critical time when students begin slipping through the cracks. He said many junior high schools in the state use summer programs to make up lost credits, but some of the most successful programs give extra class time or restrict a student's ability to take elective courses during the school year until they pass required coursework.

Lakeridge principal Garrick Peterson said for the most part, the school has been able to implement the changes with little additional costs. Flex time, for example, required only the reallocation of time and resources. He estimated that the costs associated with the data analysis, which required an additional secretary, as well as summer hours and conferencing to train teachers add up to an annual cost of $20,000, which is absorbed as a priority of the school's fund from trust land money.

Similarly at Ogden High School, Briggs said the school has been able to handle the extended lunch periods, data analysis and home visits with existing staff and resources. Two part-time attendance trackers were brought on to help get students to class, for a combined total of $25,000, which is paid for through a federal school improvement grant.

While there are certain practices and procedures educators can point to as catalysts for improvement, Kopecky said there are a number of indefinable factors, like the commitment and attitude of teachers and parents that contribute to a school's success.

Geihs spoke of the importance of involving students in the dialogue of school and performance improvement. He said that to be successful, educators need to be clinical, like physicians, as well as ministerial, like reverends.

"You can't do anything to help a student progress without positive relationships," he said. "Everybody needs to understand where they were and where they need to go academically." Deseret News

National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome offers information and help

Many new mothers throughout the world can help with their infants’ crying spells from a group of local residents.

The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome provides informational tools at no cost.

When a woman delivers in a hospital or birthing center that participates in the program, she receives a booklet and video to take home. The 10-page booklet is east to read and identifies the period of infants lives when they are most likely to have unexplained crying. The booklet also gives pointers to new parents to help them get through the trauma of the intense crying episodes. Davis Clipper

Engineers — make way for the women

Many high school senior girls in the Top of Utah are capitalizing on the trend of women moving into the fields of math and sciences, and it has been great for them.

Bonneville senior Elizabeth Radcliffe feels that she was welcomed into Weber School District’s Project Lead the Way Program with open arms. “It was never like, ‘You’re a girl, we don’t want you.’ It was more like, ‘You’re a girl, please come do this,’ ’’ Radcliffe said of her experience with the program.

She said she never thought twice about being a girl in the program; it was more of a confidence issue for her personally. She wasn’t sure if she was smart enough to be an engineer, but after her first classes she quickly came to realize she was. As for being female, she feels it works in her favor.

Because the field is so heavily made up of men, more and more employers want the input a woman can provide, said Roy High School junior Julia Satterthwaite. She has seen the way a woman’s view puts a different spin on the groups she participates in with her engineering classes. Standard Examiner

Midtown Health Center to expand its headquarters

Midtown Community Health Center is adding 15,000 square feet to its headquarters to try to meet the demands for affordable health care in Northern Utah. The center will have 12 new exam rooms and 10 dental operation rooms ready for business Tuesday. In addition, the expansion will allow for two community-based training programs. Family practice residents from McKay-Dee Family Medicine Residency Program will use six of the new exam rooms for rotations in prenatal care, said Midtown Executive Director Lisa Nichols. Six of the 10 dental rooms will be used to train dental hygiene students from Weber State University.

The remaining dental rooms will be used to expand dental services. Midtown provides a full range of services, including oral hygiene, root canals, fillings, dentures and implants on a sliding-fee scale.In addition to the expansion, Midtown’s existing space was renovated to accommodate growth and expand pharmacy services. The center currently operates a discount pharmacy that fills 45,000 prescriptions each year.

Today, the center serves 25,000 community residents at six sites in Weber and Davis counties. Sixty-seven percent of those patients are uninsured, 89 percent live at or below the federal poverty levels, 35 percent are children and 55 percent speak a language other than English. Those languages include Spanish, American Sign Language, Cantonese, Tagalog, Marshallese and Japanese. Standard Examiner

Economy hides possible impending shortage of nurses

Just like in other professions, the down economy is being blamed for a current abundance of nursing graduates. It’s a stark contrast from five years ago when nursing graduates were getting large bonuses to hire on, said Bridgette Berkeley, and intensive care unit nurse at Ogden Regional Medical Center.

But those close to the situation say the current abundance of nurses is only a temporary problem.

“We are fortunate in Utah, and especially in the Ogden area, to have enough nurses to take care of our population,” said Susan B. Thornock, interim chairwoman of the Weber State University School of Nursing.

“I can say that today, but that cannot be guaranteed for tomorrow or next month or next year.”

Thornock said cutting back on the number of nursing students would be the wrong course of action, locally or nationally.


She said “The Future of Nursing,” a 2010 national report by the Institute of Medicine and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, looked closely at how to best supply the country’s need for nurses.

“They encouraged schools and colleges of nursing to not decrease the number of students they presently educate but to increase the level of education,” she said.

Thornock said Weber State has continued to admit the same number of associate degree RNs but increased the number of post-licensure bachelor of nursing students.

Elizabeth Later, chief nursing officer at Ogden Regional, said both the aging population and an aging nursing workforce are matters of concern.

Later said the need for nurses will increase greatly about the time many will be leaving the profession as the baby boomer population ages. Standard Examiner

Volunteers offer free tax prep for low-income Utahns

Bank of Utah volunteers will be offering free income tax preparation services to low-income Utah families on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Cottages of Hope Inc. in Ogden.

For information about the services or to schedule an appointment call 2-1-1.

Cottages of Hope Inc.is at 2724 S. Washington Blvd. in Ogden. Cottages of Hope is a charitable organization with the goal of helping address people’s basic needs and then guiding them to economic independence and financial stability. Salt Lake Tribune

Rate of multi-generational homes rises in Utah

A Salt Lake Tribune analysis of recently released 2010 Census data shows that such multigenerational households grew by 50 percent in Utah during the past decade — from 25,673 to 38,852. About one of every 21 households in Utah, or 4.6 percent, has three generations or more living together. That is up from 3.7 percent in 2000.

The rate is much higher in some places. Among communities of at least 5,000 residents, Kearns has the highest rate in the state. One of every 10 households there, or 10.2 percent, is multigenerational. Other communities high on that list include: West Valley City, 9.2 percent of all households; Bluffdale, 8.4 percent; Magna, 8.3 percent; and White City, 7.9 percent. Salt Lake Tribune

Most of Utah's Metropolitan Statistical Areas experience GDP growth in 2010

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis just released annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) today. Remember that GDP represents the value of all goods and services produced in an area. Real (inflation-adjusted) U.S. GDP for metropolitan area increased an average 2.5 percent in 2010 after declining 2.5 percent in 2009. Growth proved widespread with real  GDP increasing in 304 of 366 (83 percent) metropolitan areas, led by national growth in durable-goods manufacturing, trade, and financial activities.

In Utah, growth also dominated the figures with only the St. George, UT MSA displaying an annual decline in real GDP (down 1.6 percent). In general, GDP growth in Utah's MSAs registered below average. The Logan UT, MSA showed the most rapid expansion (4.0 percent).

For more information about the 2010 GDP figures for MSAs, click here.

Metropolitan GDP figures released

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has just released 2009 estimates of Gross Domestic Product for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) across the nation. (Yes, that's not a "typo" 2009 data is the most recent information available for MSAs.) Given the economic downturn, it may be surprising that only 80 percent (292 of 366) of the nation's MSAs experienced a decline in real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product.

How did Utah's MSAs perform? Three of five Utah MSAs showed an increase in gross domestic product in 2009--Logan, Salt Lake City, and Ogden-Clearfield. In fact, the Salt Lake City MSA (which includes Salt Lake, Tooele, and Summit counties) placed in the top quintile of all MSAs. The gains weren't phenomenal (just under 1 percent), but during a recession, any gains are certainly welcome.

The St. George, UT MSA (Washington County) produced the worst Utah decline in GDP during 2009--3.4 percent. Of course, the St. George area participated in housing market speculation to a much greater degree than any other area in the state. Indeed, Washington County's decrease placed it in the lowest quintile of all MSAs. It's performance ranking? It ranked 310 out of 366 MSAs. In addition, Provo-Orem experienced a 1.7 percent drop.

For more information on recent GDP performance: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_metro/gdp_metro_newsrelease.htm

Davis County's Hispanic population growing faster than Weber's

The American Community survey shows Davis County's Hispanic population growing twice as fast as Weber County's.

Between 2000 and 2009, the number of Hispanic residents in Davis has gone up at least 62 percent. The Hispanic population of Weber County, with its heavy Hispanic-centered Ogden neighborhoods, went up 30 percent. Percentages can be deceiving -- if two people become four, that's a 100 percent increase -- but the raw numbers are higher in Davis than in Weber.

The 2000 Census said Davis County had 12,955 Hispanic residents. Data released last week in the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which looks at population and demographics between 2005 and 2009, shows 21,108 Hispanic residents in Davis. That's 8,153 more Hispanics, a 62 percent increase. Ogden Standard-Examiner

Census Bureau Releases American Community Survey data for 2009

The U.S Census Bureau has released the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates on American FactFinder. There you will find tables with social, demographic, housing, and economic data for areas with populations of 65,000 or more. The American Community Survey provides a wealth of demographic, social, economic and housing data. For example, here is where Utah ranks among all U.S. states and the District of Columbia in 2009.

Utah ranks:

• Forty-ninth for the percent of households with one or more person 65 years or older.
• Number one for the percent of households with one or more person under 18 years of age.
• Fifty-first for the percentage of people with a disability.
• Eighth for the percentage of people over 25 who have graduated from high school.
• Twentieth for the percentage of people over 25 with at least a Bachelor's degree.
• Thirty-fourth for the percent of married couples with both spouses in the labor force.
• Forty-eighth for the percentage of children in poverty.
• Twelfth for the percentage of children without health insurance coverage.
• Twentieth for the percentage of the population without health insurance coverage.
• Fifth for the percentage of homes built since 2005.
• Twenty-first for median family income.
• Twenty-second for the percentage of the population that is foreign born.
• First for average household size.
• Forty-ninth for the age of women at first marriage.
• Forty-first for the average travel time to work.
• Eighteenth for the percentage of the population that is white/not Hispanic.
• Sixteenth for the divorce rate for women.

Data for 2009 are available for the state, Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Washington, and Weber counties. Three-and five-year estimates will be available for the remaining counties in three to four month.

Click here to access the data.