Utahans are spending more money, because they have more money. The Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis looked at primary expenses in the 50 states, what we’re buying, and how much it costs consumers. Results show Utah spent 6.2 percent more in the last year than the previous one.
"We had the largest jump, and that’s likely due to general economic conditions in our state," said Carrie Mayne, Director of Utah's Department of Workforce Services. "We know that we’ve had some of the strongest employment growth, very low unemployment rate, and when you have a healthy economy like that, this puts dollars into the individuals’ pockets, which then turn into expenditures."
Mayne explains that basic economics apply. Costs for housing and utilities, especially, rose more than most other places because of demand.
"That will push prices up. And we’ve been one of the states that recovered the quickest from the Great Recession, and we’ve been expanding pretty steadily for the last few years now. So that turned into more people who had pent-up demand during the recession and the recovery," Mayne said.
The average increase among the states was 4%, and every state spent less on gas and other energy costs.