ALAN CHOATE - Daily Herald | Posted: Thursday, March 9, 2006 11:00 pm
When it comes to Utah's economy, there's good news and bad news -- and the strong possibility of more good news.
Economic news this year has been largely good -- employment and job growth are up and expected to stay that way.
That's been the case locally, with 4,200 jobs created in Utah County last year, said Utah Valley State College president William Sederburg on Thursday.
"Utah County has been phenomenally successful in growing companies and developing the entrepreneurial spirit," Sederburg said.
He was filling in for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. at the Big Business and Technology Expo at UVSC. Huntsman could not make it because of bad weather.
Economic development has been one of Huntsman's priorities, and on Thursday, Sederburg discussed many of the same points the governor has focused on, including the need for investment in technology and research and the economic dividends of higher education.
He compared Utah to Michigan, where he lived before moving West. He said Michigan still has an economy largely geared to the industrial age, where land and access to water are important, and the state's fortunes are linked to how many cars people buy.
Utah is different and has the potential to be a player internationally -- provided the work force is ready.
"In the new economy ... people power is what makes the difference," Sederburg said. "It's intellectual, it's brainpower, it's people skills.
"The No. 1 reason why companies grow here and then leave Utah is the lack of 'people power' when it comes to mid-level management and upper management."
Some bad economic news -- or at least less good -- is that many of the jobs being created are at the lower end of the wage scale, he said. But that could change if a work force is developed that has the skills employers in the state are seeking.
Many workers already are trying to develop those skills, said Casey Peterson, a spokesman for the state Department of Workforce Services and an exhibitor at the business expo.
Unemployment is not really a problem in Utah right now, he said, but "we have a very high underemployment rate."
It's not something that's easily quantified, but he said a number of Workforce Services clients already have jobs but are looking for something better.
For that, these workers must upgrade their skills, but they are usually not in a situation where they can go back to school for the training -- they have to get it "on the fly," said Peterson.
Often what's needed is instruction in software or technology, or the licenses and certification to manage a construction project instead of just being a worker in that booming industry.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D6.