Utah Employers, Employment and Wages by Size, 2013

The Utah Department of Workforce Services compiles quarterly employment and wage data for non-agricultural employers in Utah. Data is maintained at the establishment level (e.g., store, plant, or other type of permanent worksite facility). Since these establishments are assigned an industry and county code, their employment and wage data can be aggregated into common industry and county groupings for analysis purposes.

Employment and wage data for Utah’s non-agricultural employers are categorized in this publication by employment size for the month of March in each of the designated years. Grouping data by this criterion provides a useful tool to analyze the characteristics of Utah employers. For example, general trends of the size of Utah employers and employment concentrations by employer size class can be observed. Wage levels for large, medium, and small firms can also be evaluated.

In this publication, data is presented for both establishments and firms. The term "establishment" is generally defined as a specific physical worksite for an employer. For most employers, this is the actual street location at which business is conducted. For others, with no permanent worksite (such as salespeople, factory representatives, or distributors) it is the location from which they conduct their business (sometimes even residences).

For an overview of this publication and a look at your county, click here.

Arch Coal to Sell Utah Assets for $435 Million

Arch Coal, Inc. and Bowie Resources, LLC announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Arch will sell to Bowie its wholly-owned subsidiary, Canyon Fuel Company, LLC, for $435 million. Both companies have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013.

Canyon Fuel includes the Sufco and Skyline longwall mines and the Dugout Canyon continuous miner operation. In addition to these active operations and related support facilities, Bowie will receive approximately 105 million tons of bituminous coal reserves in Utah. After the transaction is completed, Bowie plans to keep the existing 725-person workforce in place at the Canyon Fuel operations. Castle Country Radio

Small Private Sector Employers Dominate the Southeast Utah Employment Landscape

Evaluating employment in Utah according to firm size provides a deeper understanding of who employs Utah’s workforce, which in turn can provide an interesting perspective into how different size firms operate in any economic environment. Here, definitions of small, medium, and large firms are provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: small is any business that employs 1-49 individuals; medium businesses employ 50-499 individuals; large firms employ at least 500 individuals.

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At the state level, 95 percent of private sector firms are small employers and are responsible for 35 percent of all private sector employment in the state. On the other hand, while large employers represent only less than one percent of all private sector firms in Utah (0.3 percent to be exact), these large firms are responsible for 30 percent of total employment in the state. To what extent may this be the case in other areas of the state? Do large employers dominate the landscape outside of the large metropolitan areas?

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In the Castle Country Economic Service Area (comprised of Emery and Carbon counties), for example, 82 percent of private sector employers are small firms. Thirteen percent are mid-size firms and five percent are large firms. While just five percent businesses are large firms, these five percent are responsible for one in five private sector jobs in the Castle Country region. This is more or less in line with state-level breakdown.

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In the Southeast ESA (Grand and San Juan Counties), 89 percent of private sector employers are small firms, 7 percent are mid-size firms, and just fewer than 4 percent are large firms. Interestingly, whereas large private sector employers were responsible for 20 percent of employment in Castle Country (or 30 percent at the state level), large employers in the Southeast region are responsible for just 5 percent of total private sector employment. In the Southeast, the small employer clearly dominates, employing over 70 percent of total private sector employees. In fact, firms that employ between 25 and 49 employees, on a twelve-year average, make up just under half of all private sector employment in the Southeast region.

Interested in the dynamics of employer size in your region? The upcoming 2012-13 Winter Edition of Local Insights will highlight these and other details regarding employment by firm size.

Hospital, College are Bright Spots in Local Economy

Since 2005, economic development in the Castle Country has been largely centered in the Business Expansion and Retention Project. While the program's early goals focused on information gathering and individual business intervention, the group's monthly meetings have become a launching pad for business growth in the area. Planning to continue that trend, the group's most recent session included several reports which outline projections for the local economy moving into 2013.

"The general feeling I get this year is not nearly as positive as it was last year," said Gordon Odendahl, controller at Tony Basso GM, who was tasked with preparing a projection for the group. "Anyone involved in or dependent upon the mining industry is not looking to make any kind of decision about expansion and growth, hiring or future projects until after the presidential election."

His area-wide report, admittedly unscientific, showed that gross incomes and profits are down from last year, some significantly.

However, most businesses were either flat or slightly down heading into 2012's fourth quarter. Projections range from no growth to slow growth moving forward and while restaurants, motels and insurance are all down, construction remains steady in the area.

Odendahl's most serious concern stemming from the report comes from uncertainty around the coal mining and mine service industries which dominate the area's economy.

Concerns at CONSOL and less production than expected from Lila Canyon, coupled with slowing coal exports and possible trouble at west coast ports paint a troubling picture, he reported.

Oil and gas producers also face adversity with low product prices causing low production. While the energy industry as a whole faces continuing challenges, several areas of the projection called for growth in the local area.

Despite some difficulty with numbers in 2012, Utah State University was also listed as a bright spot by Odendahl. He commented that improvement to the school's facilities and curriculum are both currently under way.

"USU Eastern brings a lot of people, both students and visitors, to our area," he said. "And jobs plus visitors equals business revenue."

While some numbers do speak to a downturn in the economy, there are others that speak to growth bubbling up through the down figures.

According to Price City Community Development Director Nick Tatton, Price city's sales tax numbers are up over eight percent this year. This increase, coupled with a bevy of building projects, show Carbon County's hub working to buck the current downtrend. Sun Advocate

New brochures promote Green River and surrounding areas

A new effort is being led in Green River to promote the town and the surrounding attractions by the Epicenter and a small group of business owners and managers with support from the City of Green River and the Emery County Travel Bureau. The Destination Green River website was the first step in publishing information and promoting attractions.

The website boasts many natural attractions, an events calendar, maps, and information on Green River's tourism-based establishments. Interactive maps featuring GPS coordinates and drop pins include a map of all of the arches in the San Rafael Swell, a map of nearby petroglyph and pictograph sites, a map for rockhounds, and a map of mines in the San Rafael Swell.

In order to promote the website and provide printed resources, the group produced a series of daytrip leaflets that include Green River residents' favorite spots to recommend to visitors passing through town: The Crystal Geyser, Black Dragon Canyon, Fossil Point, Lower Gray Canyon (Swasey's Beach), and Sego Canyon. Each daytrip leaflet has detailed directions, suggested activities, and tips. Each also include a unique QR code that links to the Destination Green River website when scanned with a smartphone. Emery County Progress