ST. GEORGE, Utah — A new report from the job search website Indeed ranks the top 10 metro areas in the nation for job growth, and the seventh-best city is in southern Utah.
"As a Utah resident, I was like, okay, great to see St. George there," said Indeed senior economist Cory Stahle.
According to Indeed’s report, St. George, Cedar City, and surrounding cities have seen a 55% jump in job postings since the end of the pandemic.
"What we've seen is that the main drivers actually of job growth nationally have been healthcare and kind of leisure hospitality types of jobs," Stahle explained. "And it's no secret that St. George certainly has an abundance of both of those types of jobs."
Stahle said another factor that sets southwest Utah apart from other, weaker metro areas is the growth of professional business services such as accountants, marketing and lawyers.
Foreign visitors to Utah's 'Mighty 5' will have to dig deeper into their pockets:
Indeed's rankings come after WalletHub named St. George as the best small city in the nation to start a business earlier this year.
St. George Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Shawn Christiansen says the city's honors are rooted in the area's pioneer culture.
"Once they got down here, it was do or die, right? Sink or swim, and they made it happen, and that same mentality, that same drive still exists in Washington County today. It really is core to who we are," he said.
Challenges remain, with Stahle explaining how higher national park fees for foreign tourists could hurt the tourism economy.
"Certainly, those could be things that could hamper the economy because that is a pretty vital part of the St. George economy," he explained.
Then there’s another factor heard time and time again. There may be jobs in the area, but the wages for them don’t pay enough to allow someone to live there. But Christiansen claims the problem isn’t wages.
"The number one driver of our attainable housing problem is the cost of land," he said. "Our biggest challenge is just the cost of dirt. So that's something that, over time, the market's going to have to correct for that. Either price of homes are going to come down, or wages are going to go up, or a little of both is what I see happening.
When you talk about growth in the St. George area, the ever-present issue of water supply remains a major topic of discussion. Christensen believes a new policy enacted by the local water district will help stem that tide. Under that policy, if a local city wants to approve a high-water use commercial project, they'll need to have nearly every local mayor sign up for it.
