Two pieces of good economic news were released this week: unemployment is down in two-thirds of American cities, according to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday, and consumer confidence rose unexpectedly this past month.
According to an Associate Press report analyzing the BLS data, unemployment rates fell in 239 of the nation's 372 largest cities from June to July. Thirty-four cities had unemployment rates below 5 percent, nearly double the 18 in July 2012. Additionally, fewer cities reported unusually high unemployment rates, with only 41 cities reporting a rate above 10 percent last month, down from 67 last year. The city with the best unemployment rate is Bismarck, N.D., sitting at 2.5 percent.
The unemployment trend has been true for Utah cities, with drops in unemployment in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo and Logan. St. George showed the biggest rebound, dropping from 7.3 percent unemployment last July to 5.4 percent this year.
However, in some cities unemployment remains stubbornly high. The unemployment rate in Yuma, Ariz., is the worst in the country at 34.5 percent, a 2.5 percent increase since last year. Behind Yuma is El Centro, Calif., at 26.1 percent. According to the Associated Press, the “two areas are perennially at the top of the list and are home to many migrant farm workers.”
Accompanying the news of falling unemployment in cities, consumer confidence rose this past month, according to the Conference Board, a private research group The Wall Street Journal reported that the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence rose to 81.5 this month from a revised 81.0 in July. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected the latest index to only be 79.1.
The survey showed that consumers have a brighter outlook on their ability to bring in money and find jobs. The WSJ reported that 17.4 percent of respondents think their incomes will increase in the next six months, while only 15.7 percent said the same in July. Additionally, 17.6 percent of consumers said they anticipate more jobs in the future, up from 16.7 percent in July.
“Income expectations are finally starting to show some strength,” Michael Brown, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC, told Bloomberg. “We’re starting to see job growth, and consumers are feeling a little bit better about their prospects. We’re a little more optimistic about the prospects for consumer spending.”
EMAIL: dmerling@deseretnews.com