The Salt Lake Chamber has released the third-quarter results of the Salt Lake Chamber’s CEOutlook 2019 survey. The CEOutlook Confidence Index decreased from 60.1 in 2019-Q2 to 53.3 for 2019-Q3, as executives report Utah’s economy continues to hold steady.
“What caught my eye wasn’t so much the decline in the Index, but the magnitude of the drop – a full 6.8 percentage points,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “From my perspective, two conditions explain this. First, the third quarter saw signs of a moderating economy, and second, it is likely that actions taken by the Federal Reserve Board in June positively influenced the outlook of our CEOs in the second quarter of this year.”
According to the third-quarter 2019 CEOutlook survey, 95% of executives report similar or somewhat better economic conditions for Utah’s economy as compared to the previous six months. The study also shows that a majority of executives, 55%, anticipate Utah’s economy will hold steady in the coming months. Over half of the executives, 62%, expect stable conditions in their relative industries six months from now, and the majority of executives, 83%, expect their profits to remain the same or increase moderately over the next year.
“In the eyes of Utah’s chief executives, the Utah economy has moved solidly into the ‘about the same’ category,” said Natalie Gochnour, director of Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and chief economist at the Salt Lake Chamber. “Profit expectations over the next year still appear strong, with increasing demand leading the way. When asked to call out specific economic concerns business leaders point in greatest numbers to trade wars, labor shortages, and housing affordability.”
To view the full 2019-Q3 report and to learn more about the CEOutlook, visit: http://slchamber.com/
