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Kempsey Gardner economist: Utah and Salt Lake City showing strong growth but national uncertainty looms
Summary
Natalie Goughner of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute told the Salt Lake City Council the state and the city are among the nation's fastest-growing economies, but trade policies and falling tourism pose risks to local revenues.
Natalie Goughner, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, told the Salt Lake City Council on May 13 that Utah led the nation in 2024 gross domestic product growth and Salt Lake City is registering faster population and job growth than the state average.
Goughner said Utah's 2024 GDP growth measured about 4.5 percent versus a U.S. average near 2.8 percent. "We have the fastest growing economy in the nation," she said. She reported the Institute's provisional estimate that Salt Lake City's population is just over 220,000, a roughly 4 percent increase from 2023, and that the city accounts for about 25 percent of jobs in Utah.
The Kemp C. Gardner Policy Institute director told the council those strengths coexist with growing uncertainty. She cited higher effective tariff rates on goods trade and a sharp drop in some tourism forecasts as sources of…
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