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www.slenterprise.com January 1, 2018 Volume 47, Number 23 $1.50 OF NOTE Utah jobless rate down another bit to 3.2% in November Utah’s unemployment rate — already among the best in the nation — took another dip in November to 3.2 percent, down 0.1 percent from October. The Department of Workforce Services said that means just over 50,000 people are still looking for jobs Use 'em or lose 'em in the state. Meanwhile, the annual job growth for If you’re coming back to work Utah reached 2.9 percent in November, add- from holiday vacations, you’re ing 42,100 jobs to the economy since No- not alone. A survey from Robert vember 2016. Utah’s current employment Half indicates that 65 percent of level sits at 1,498,100. The national unemployment rate re- Salt Lake City workers expected Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox speaks to the crowd at last year’s Silicon Slopes Tech Summit at the Salt to cash in their vacation time dur- Palace Convention Center. The inaugural event attracted 5,000 attendees — a ﬁ gure that orga- mained unchanged in November from Oc- ing the holidays in order to use nizers expect to double at this year’s event, set for Jan. 18-19. tober at 4.1 percent. “The year is winding down on an eco- all of their 2017 days off. Of the nomic high note with the addition of more remaining 35 percent, the top than 40,000 jobs in the state,” said Carrie two reasons they worked were Economic & tech summits Mayne, chief economist at the Department that they wanted to save time for of Workforce Services. “Coupled with a low later or they did not have enough unemployment rate, Utah will transition to money to go on a vacation. 2018 on a strong labor market trajectory.” set to usher in new year Utah’s private sector employment grew Industry News Briefs More than 700 people are expected at by 3.1 percent year-over-year with the ad- Brice Wallace pages 6-7 the Jan. 16 summit, which takes place 7:30 dition of 37,200 positions. Eight of the 10 The Enterprise a.m.-noon at the Salt Lake City Marriott private sector industry groups measured in Business Calendar Downtown at City Creek, 75 S. West Tem- the establishment survey posted net job in- page 9 The new year was heralded with fi re- ple, Salt Lake City. It is hosted by the Salt creases in November as compared to last year, while the natural resources and min- Real Estate works, and January is offering the business Lake Chamber, in collaboration with the community a pair of bang-up events. Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the Uni- ing industry decreased by 400 positions page 14 The Utah Economic Outlook & Policy versity of Utah. and the information industry gained no po- Summit takes place Jan. 16 and will fea- Activities include a 2018 economic sitions. The largest private sector employ- ture a keynote presentation by former Mas- outlook by prominent economists, release ment increases were in leisure and hospi- sachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. That will of the initial Salt Lake Chamber CEOut- tality (9,000 jobs); trade, transportation and be followed up by the Silicon Slopes Tech look Confi dence Index, presentation of the utilities (6,500 jobs); professional and busi- Summit, set for Jan. 18-19 at the Salt Pal- “2018 Economic Report to the Governor,” ness services (6,200 jobs); and education ace Convention Center. Last year’s inaugu- Gov. Gary Herbert’s economic vision for and health services (6,200 jobs). The fastest ral summit attracted 5,000 attendees, and or- employment growth occurred in leisure and ganizers are expecting that fi gure to double hospitality (6.7 percent), construction (5.1 this year. see SUMMITS page 4 percent) and other services (4.9 percent). Is Utahns' optimism waning? Attitude index takes dip Could it be that Utah consumers are los- from 128.7 in November to 132.1 in De- ber and November and appear to be heading ing a little bit of their enthusiasm about the cember. This is the highest level that the back to more sustainable levels. economy? After consecutive record-setting Present Situation Index has ever recorded “The elevated levels of consumer confi - highs in October and November, the Zions since its inception six years ago. This sig- dence that we are seeing currently are espe- Bank Utah Consumer Attitude Index (CAI) nals strong positive consumer market per- cially important during the holiday season,” dipped slightly, decreasing from 124.4 in ception during the holiday shopping season, said Scott Anderson, Zions Bank president November to 118.7 in December. The over- according to Zions Bank economists. and CEO. “Almost 70 percent of the gross all Utah CAI now sits 1.1 points lower than Although perceptions of the current domestic p roduct nationwide comes from its level 12 months ago. An index level of state of the economy are at an all-time high, consumption and consumer spending. As 118.7 still indicates extremely positive con- expectations for the future trajectory of the consumers are more confi dent in the Utah sumer attitudes regarding the economy, the economy decreased 11.8 points to 109.7 in economy, I believe that GDP statewide will CAI pollsters said. December. Perceptions of future labor mar- continue to increase.” The Utah Present Situation Index, a ket trends, fueled by Utah’s 2.7 percent measure of confi dence in current statewide year-over-year labor market growth, were economic conditions, increased 3.4 points, highly elevated during the months of Octo- see CAI page 4 2 • January 1-7, 2018 • The Enterprise - Utah's Business Journal Peter Huntsman takes reins WABCO invests $10 million in Nikola The patriarch of the Utah family that founded the Hunts- to begin testing the trucks with tion and stability control technol- man Corp. has announced that he is stepping down as executive Belgian ﬁ rm makes commercial vehicle fl eets in late ogies. chairman of the company. In Jon Huntsman Sr.’s place, son Peter huge commitment 2018 and launch full production “WABCO continues to stay Huntsman has been named chairman of the board of directors. in 2021. Nikola will offer Nikola at the vanguard of technology and Peter Huntsman has been serving as president and CEO, roles to future of electric One and Two, daycab and sleeper innovation,” said Nikola founder that he will maintain. The executive chairman position has been versions, respectively, that prom- and CEO Trevor Milton. “Here at eliminated, the company said in a press statement. The changes vehicles with ise to generate 1,000 horsepower Nikola, we are driving a paradigm were effective Jan. 1. purchase of 1 and 2,000 foot-pounds of torque. shift in the transportation indus- After serving as executive chairman of the company he The vehicle features a hydrogen try by creating the most advanced founded 48 years ago, Jon Huntsman Sr. will continue to serve percent of Salt fuel cell and an electric motor hy- semi-truck ever built. WABCO is on the board of directors as a director and chairman emeritus. brid setup that allows it to travel a vital business partner to enable “I am honored to be taking on this responsibility at a time Lake company 800 to 1,200 miles on a single fi ll- autonomous driving, electronic when the company has never been stronger and had more oppor- braking, and stability control for John Rogers up while operating free of emis- tunities before it,” said Peter Huntsman. “This will be a smooth trucks and trailers. WABCO is The Enterprise sions. transition as our founder, my father, will continue in a valuable recognized as a global leader in Nikola began selling its capacity as a board member, maintaining vital relations with cus- safety and effi ciency technolo- Nikola Zero 550-horsepower tomers, suppliers and policy makers as well as sharing his total WABCO Holdings Inc., the gies for next-generation commer- electric UTV to consumers in De- 56 years of industry experience.” parent company of Auderghem, cial vehicles. We have added a cember. The company purchased “It’s a high honor to turn the chairmanship role over to Peter Brussels-based WABCO Vehicle world-class supplier to the Nikola Huntsman, who I consider to be one of the world’s outstanding Control Systems, has purchased electric personal watercraft man- truck family and are looking for- CEOs,” said Huntsman Sr. “Huntsman Corp. will continue to a 1 percent stake in Nikola Motor ufacturer Free Form Factory Inc. ward to our collaboration to bring experience its sound growth and strong fi nancial controls under Co. The $10 million investment of Sacramento, California, in Oc- Nikola’s zero emission trucks to Peter’s experienced oversight. It has been both a great challenge tabs the worth of the Salt Lake tober. market.” and a special privilege to be chairman for almost half a century.” City-based developer of electric WABCO is a supplier of “We are excited to invest in Huntsman Corp. is a publicly traded global manufactur- vehicles at $1 billion, according technologies and services that Nikola Motor Co. to help the in- er and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with to industry analysts. improve the safety, effi ciency and dustry realize our joint vision 2016 revenues of approximately $7 billion. The company is now Nikola designs and manu- connectivity of commercial ve- of electrifi ed and autonomous based in The Woodlands, Texas, but maintains a strong presence factures hydrogen-electric vehi- hicles.

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