Helping our partners navigate the ever-shifting business landscape is mission-critical for the Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau. A popular resource is our annual Zions Bank Wasatch Back Economic Summit, co-hosted with the Heber Valley Chamber last week at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley.
Our keynoters focused on issues businesses must reckon with daily — the economy, the national labor shortage, and the impact of artificial intelligence.
Zions Bank Economic and Public Policy VP Robert Spendlove, noting the ongoing tariff negotiations and budget discussions in the House, summarized the new administration’s economic approach as “Reindustrialize, Reprivatize and Refocus.”
He touched on Utah’s bright spots — healthy employment growth, a low unemployment rate, rising median household income (now exceeding $100,000) and 4.5 percent growth in GDP — all aligned with national trends but exceeding national averages.
At the same time, U.S. consumer confidence dropped in April, interest rates did not go down, and the still-developing House budget bill could add trillions to the national debt, whose service now costs more than defense and Medicare/Medicaid, he said. The money supply has jumped by $7 trillion since COVID, and labor force participation is still decreasing.
He noted that now-slowing inflation could reaccelerate due to tariff policies while trade, immigration, taxes, debt and deregulation will continue making headlines. With consumer confidence dropping, Spendlove concluded that an economic downturn could become more likely this year.
Author and labor economist Ron Hetrick said he sees storms ahead with U.S. population growth outpacing labor force growth by four to one in coming years, resulting in fewer workers supporting more consumers and an aging population.
He said Utah’s position is comparatively strong, with our population and labor force growing together (“a near-perfect scenario”) and the nation’s youngest workforce — attractive to employers. Utah’s unemployment in March was just 3.1 percent. One consequence is that there are just 0.8 workers available for each of Utah’s 75,000 posted jobs.
Hetrick noted that nationally, labor force growth since 2019 has come almost entirely from college graduates, although only 60 percent of open jobs require a degree. Utah’s most-posted jobs are non-degreed: customer service reps, truck/delivery drivers, and maintenance workers. Competition for these non-degreed workers is heating up, with wages rising in places like Costco and Home Depot.
How can local employers compete? Hetrick suggested creating social networks for workers to grow together and share work stories with peers, partnering with educators — at even the middle school level — so graduates match job requirements and marketing messages that promote your community contributions, which are critical for attracting younger workers.
Andreas Mueller-Schubert of WSI NextGen Marketing said he believes next-level AI will quickly expand from customer service chatbots to being our primary interface with websites, customizing the content and responses we see — essentially doing the clicking for us from what it had learned about our preferences. This will have ramifications for businesses that provide a service, make sales, or process orders through their websites.
He said innovations will likely emerge from workers using AI to increase efficiency, suggesting that a supportive, educational environment that encourages employees to experiment and learn will facilitate practical AI strategies.
Our breakout sessions were equally forward-looking, featuring conversations about increasing energy production while valuing open space/recreation, housing and land use perspectives from government planners and developers, additional discussion on our evolving workforce picture, and the economic development impact of transit and transportation.
It was a lot to pack into one day. Still, in the months — perhaps even years — to come, I’m confident our newly-energized partners will build on insights from this year’s Summit, benefiting our economy and community.
Jennifer Wesselhoff is the president and CEO of the Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.