Consumer sentiment in Utah held steady in May, according to new data from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The rest of the U.S. saw a decline. But even in the Beehive State, confidence in the economy lags behind other economic indicators.
“Over decades with this national survey, if consumer sentiment was down, you'd most likely see declines in retail sales or other indicators of consumer activity,” said Phil Dean, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s chief economist. “And that really hasn't been the case since the pandemic.”
He added Utah tends “to kind of follow the U.S. overall, but at a higher level, so people are more optimistic here.”
At a community pickleball tournament in Orem, resident Doug Black reflected that optimism. Black has lived in Utah his entire life and owns and operates apartment complexes and mobile home communities.
“I believe Utah is doing really well,” he said. “There’s job growth, of course, new homes being built and people moving to Utah.”
Others at the tournament were less optimistic.
“The cost of food, the cost of houses and just so many things have just increased over the years,” said Howard Gomes. “So, it makes it very hard to live.”
Gomes works in the tech industry, where there have been layoffs in the past few years.
“I have many friends that are at their tech companies. You know, they've gone through several rounds of layoffs.”
Some of the more negative consumer sentiment can be connected to the fact that even when inflation starts to slow down, prices still go up, Dean said.
“People see the higher prices for food or the higher prices for gasoline, and they remember back when prices weren't so high. And so that impacts how they feel about the economy, even if they still are out buying all those things, at the higher prices.”
Overall, he said there’s been a lot of fluctuation from the norm when it comes to confidence in the economy.
“Later this year or next year [we’ll] maybe see an interest rate cut or two, my guess is somewhere around then or in the aftermath of that is when we might start to see more normalization here.”
