Governor Gary Herbert says his challenge to create 100,000 jobs in 1,000 days was a huge success.
In his 2012 state of the state address Governor Gary Herbert challenged the private sector to create 100,000 jobs in 1,000 days. The unemployment rate at the time was 5.8%. Now at the end of the challenge, Herbert says they were actually able to create 112, 200 jobs.
“This has been the work of many, many people working together, particularly in the private sector," Herbert says. "We’ve tried to do what we can to empower them and let them be innovators and creators of job opportunities, to grow their businesses, to create new businesses. And by empowerment of the private sector it really has worked. That’s why we not only did we met the goal but we’ve exceeded the goal.”
Val Hale is the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. He says the success is an indication of how effective the policies championed by the Governor and the Legislature really are.
“We have incentive programs that are designed to promote businesses here in the state, to attract businesses from out of state," Hale says. "We have business resources centers located throughout the state that help many small businesses. And these have provided invaluable resources to those looking to start businesses and grow and prosper.”
The unemployment rate in Utah has now dropped to 3.6%, but Herbert says even though they’ve been successful there’s still more to do.
“There are still people out there that need to be retrained and prove their skills and get back in the workforce. We won’t rest until everybody in Utah that wants a job can find a job,” he says.
At 3.6%, Utah’s current job growth rate is nearly double the national average.
