More than a thousand Utah business leaders gathered at the Grand America Hotel Friday for the Governor’s Economic Summit.
The theme was innovation at the tenth annual summit.
“We have an incredibly entrepreneurial spirit here in the state,” says Val Hale, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “Innovation and entrepreneurship is one of the reasons we’re doing so well. We have some tremendous people here in the state who are willing take some risks, start a business, and do really well for the most part.”
He says it’s because of innovation and entrepreneurship that Utah has one of the strongest economies in the country.
Utah’s unemployment rate rests at 3.4%, compared to the national average of 5%. Hale says that presents a unique challenge for employers.
“Our economy is so hot and jobs are being created at such a rapid pace,” he says.” The big challenge is finding people to fill those jobs. And that’s across all sectors—IT, manufacturing, construction.”
Hale says it’s an illustration of how fast Utah’s economy has grown since the economic recession in 2008.
