Utah Consumer Confidence Rises Despite Softening Labor Market

The Utah Chamber, in partnership with the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, has released the December 2025 Roadmap to Prosperity Economic Dashboard to inform business leaders’ understanding of Utah’s economy. This tool prioritizes key data on the state’s economic outlook and actionable context for decision-makers.

“Utah’s economy ends 2025 on a cautiously optimistic note. While consumer sentiment rebounded in December and Utah continues to outpace national trends, our labor market is showing signs of softening,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Utah Chamber. “As we enter 2026, these signals underscore the importance of sound policy decisions and continued collaboration to maintain Utah’s competitive edge.”

Three essential insights from the December 2025 Roadmap to Prosperity Dashboard include:

1. Utah’s labor market shows signs of softening. Despite year-over job growth in Utah (1.0%) exceeding the U.S. average (0.5%), the deceleration — coupled with an increase in Utah’s unemployment from 3.4% to 3.6% — suggests a softening labor market.  
2. Zions Bank Utah consumer sentiment rose in December. According to the Zions Bank Consumer Sentiment Survey, Utah consumer sentiment rose 5.4% in December to 79.9. However, sentiment was 12.5% lower than this time last year, while the U.S. consumer sentiment dropped 28.5%. 
3. Air travel dips in November. Salt Lake City International Airport recorded its lowest passenger count since February 2023. The decrease marks a 1.3% year-over decline in November. This dip likely reflects air travel impacts associated with the federal government shutdown. 

The Dashboard is updated monthly, providing essential insights, tracking timely and leading measures and sharing pertinent indicators. This provides leaders with critical and timely information to make informed decisions.  

“Utah’s economy continues to demonstrate underlying strength, with our job growth still outpacing the nation and consumer sentiment seeing a welcome bump in December,” said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. “The latest data, however, reveal signs of a moderating trend, particularly some softening in the labor market. This nuanced picture points toward a period of cautious optimism, as we anticipate economic growth will remain subdued in the coming months.”

To view the dashboard, click here.

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