Tyson Smith, Regional Economist
The Uintah Basin continued to add employment throughout the fourth quarter of 2014. Average annual employment in the region grew nearly 4 percent from 2013. Despite the sustained growth trend throughout last year, it appears that the economic conditions in the Uintah Basin are taking a turn for the worse.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services relies on several data sources to help describe the state of the economy. The most accurate data available is the nonfarm payroll employment information that is collected through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. However, the resources required to gather data accurately come at the expense of timeliness, which results in a four to six month lag between the time these data are collected and when they are available to the public.
When economic trends change dramatically it is important to understand the recent history of the region, while also using up-to-date information to inform the current economic climate. The most recent data that highlight the shrinking labor market in the Uintah Basin are the unemployment rate and the initial weekly unemployment claims, both of which have jumped significantly to start 2015.
Showing posts with label Oil and Gas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oil and Gas. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2015
Uintah County Economic Update
Tyson Smith, Regional Economist
The Uintah Basin continued to add employment throughout the fourth quarter of 2014. Average annual employment in the region grew nearly 4 percent from 2013. Despite the sustained growth trend throughout last year, it appears that the economic conditions in the Uintah Basin are taking a turn for the worse.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services relies on several data sources to help describe the state of the economy. The most accurate data available is the nonfarm payroll employment information that is collected through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. However, the resources required to gather data accurately come at the expense of timeliness, which results in a four to six month lag between the time these data are collected and when they are available to the public.
When economic trends change dramatically it is important to understand the recent history of the region, while also using up-to-date information to inform the current economic climate. The most recent data that highlight the shrinking labor market in the Uintah Basin are the unemployment rate and the initial weekly unemployment claims, both of which have jumped significantly to start 2015.
The Uintah Basin continued to add employment throughout the fourth quarter of 2014. Average annual employment in the region grew nearly 4 percent from 2013. Despite the sustained growth trend throughout last year, it appears that the economic conditions in the Uintah Basin are taking a turn for the worse.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services relies on several data sources to help describe the state of the economy. The most accurate data available is the nonfarm payroll employment information that is collected through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. However, the resources required to gather data accurately come at the expense of timeliness, which results in a four to six month lag between the time these data are collected and when they are available to the public.
When economic trends change dramatically it is important to understand the recent history of the region, while also using up-to-date information to inform the current economic climate. The most recent data that highlight the shrinking labor market in the Uintah Basin are the unemployment rate and the initial weekly unemployment claims, both of which have jumped significantly to start 2015.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Uintah Basin Economic Discussion (TV Interview)
Tyson Smith, Regional Economist
I was recently asked to do an interview with VTV6 in Vernal, Utah. Chris Piner, one of the hosts of Local Point, focused the discussion on the Uintah Basin's economy, but we also touched on national and international issues and the role of the Utah Department of Workforce Services in the labor market.
For more local content, please visit the VTV6 YouTube channel.
I was recently asked to do an interview with VTV6 in Vernal, Utah. Chris Piner, one of the hosts of Local Point, focused the discussion on the Uintah Basin's economy, but we also touched on national and international issues and the role of the Utah Department of Workforce Services in the labor market.
For more local content, please visit the VTV6 YouTube channel.
Friday, March 13, 2015
News on Crude Oil Prices
Tyson Smith, Regional Economist
Residents of the Uintah Basin continue to keep a close eye on crude oil prices. As has been discussed on this blog, and by news outlets across the nation, falling crude oil prices have had a negative effect on domestic oil and gas production and employment. Falling oil prices shrink the profit margins of U.S. extraction companies, which leads to less exploration, more rig closures and more layoffs. The questions being asked most often in oil and gas communities are: "When will prices stabilize?" and "At what level?"
While it is unclear what the answer to these questions will be, two recent articles in the Wall Street Journal directly addressed those issues.
Both articles, one by Georgi Kantchev and Bill Spindle and the other by Benoît Faucon, explore the possibility that oil prices my still have room to fall.
Kantchev and Spindle ask, "After their sharp drop late last year, oil prices have been trading in a relatively steady band for more than a month, raising an obvious question: Has the market hit a bottom?", before answering, "A number of fundamentals suggest not yet..."
Faucon addresses the possibility of stable gas prices even more bluntly when he quotes the monthly report from the International Energy Agency, which states, "On the face of it, the oil price appears to be stabilizing. What a precarious balance it is, however behind the facade of stability, the rebalancing triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course, and it might be overly optimistic to expect it to proceed smoothly.”
Residents of the Uintah Basin will have to wait (along with the rest of us) to get the answers to these questions. But until then, energy prices will continue to be a major topic locally, nationally and globally.
Residents of the Uintah Basin continue to keep a close eye on crude oil prices. As has been discussed on this blog, and by news outlets across the nation, falling crude oil prices have had a negative effect on domestic oil and gas production and employment. Falling oil prices shrink the profit margins of U.S. extraction companies, which leads to less exploration, more rig closures and more layoffs. The questions being asked most often in oil and gas communities are: "When will prices stabilize?" and "At what level?"
While it is unclear what the answer to these questions will be, two recent articles in the Wall Street Journal directly addressed those issues.
Both articles, one by Georgi Kantchev and Bill Spindle and the other by Benoît Faucon, explore the possibility that oil prices my still have room to fall.
Kantchev and Spindle ask, "After their sharp drop late last year, oil prices have been trading in a relatively steady band for more than a month, raising an obvious question: Has the market hit a bottom?", before answering, "A number of fundamentals suggest not yet..."
Faucon addresses the possibility of stable gas prices even more bluntly when he quotes the monthly report from the International Energy Agency, which states, "On the face of it, the oil price appears to be stabilizing. What a precarious balance it is, however behind the facade of stability, the rebalancing triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course, and it might be overly optimistic to expect it to proceed smoothly.”
Residents of the Uintah Basin will have to wait (along with the rest of us) to get the answers to these questions. But until then, energy prices will continue to be a major topic locally, nationally and globally.
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