Most people see red when they think of gasoline prices these days. And with good reason.

Fueling the rise in crude oil and gas prices is demand from the emerging nations of China and India, both of which enjoy government subsidies on fuel, as well as speculators betting on higher commodity prices as a hedge against a weak dollar.

The study found that a typical Utah family now spends about 5.9 percent of their real income (or income adjusted for inflation) -- which equates to $5,644 a year or $471 a month -- on gasoline costs. That's up 57 percent from $3,596 a year or $300 a month in gas costs in 2005, said Kelly Matthews, executive vice president and senior economist with Wells Fargo in Salt Lake City.

"Things have gotten much more difficult. Affordability has shrunk. The question is: Can we afford what we're paying for gas," Matthews said. "What we've found is the incremental increase in gas costs now far exceeds a typical Utah family's discretionary savings or their ability to absorb those additional costs. Something has to give. Either they drive less, work more to get more income, change cars, or stop spending in other areas. But the point is adjustments now have to be made."

Slower consumer spending could ultimately worsen the slowdown in Utah's economy, he said.

"The magnitude of the slowdown in Utah's job growth depends in part on how soon and how fast oil and gas prices bite consumers. If consumers cut back significantly, businesses are going to have to adjust their employment, or lay off people, just like what is now happening in the mortgage and airlines industries," Matthews said.

"Obviously we don't want that to happen in Utah's economy. For now, it looks like we'll continue to slow down through the remainder of the year, but we're not likely to drop below 1 percent in job growth, which should better than the last recession in 2001-2002," he said.