Salt Lake City Retail Market Report

Household incomes ascend amid growing economy. The Salt Lake City metro entered April with a 1.9 percent unemployment rate and a total job count well beyond the pre-pandemic mark. Despite the minimal volume of available labor, workforce expansion will persist at an above-average pace in the coming quarters. Expanding financial, tech and other professional services firms will play a substantial role in this job creation, recruiting from outside the metro to fill skilled positions. The near-term influx of traditional office positions that results will support an annual pace of wage growth that exceeds the national rate of increase, elevating the metro's year-end median household income to $87,000. The lift in earnings is poised to aid households' discretionary budgets and overall retail sales, potentially encouraging local vendor expansions.