Recession-proof city

Salt Lake City is one of the ten leading recession-proof cities, according to a Forbes.com analysis including data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Association of Realtors, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Leading the list was Oklahoma City. Only two cities in the East — Charlotte and Raleigh — made the list along with Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Seattle and San Jose rounded out the list. Fifty metropolitan areas were examined.

Money quotes concerning SLC:

“In Salt Lake City, where the median home price rose 2.5% and unemployment, at 3.1%, is below the 5.1% national average, growth in education and health services is expected to be 5.5%.”

“A November 2007 report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors projected that Salt Lake City would be one of the few large cities in the country not to suffer a decline in gross metropolitan product from the mortgage crisis.”

Outlook promising for ‘08 college grads

As another academic year closes and college graduates venture into a complicated job market, freshly minted alumni should take heed of the recent job vacancy report released by the state’s department of workforce services. The local demand for college graduates is strong and that fact is reflected in the most recent job outlook sponsored by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The top bachelor’s degrees in demand are accounting, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, business administration/management, economics/finance, information sciences and systems, marketing/marketing management, computer engineering, and management information systems/business data processing.

As far as costs go, Utah’s colleges and universities are a significantly affordable bargain in relative terms compared to the rest of the country. The average yearly cost, excluding room and board, for attending a public four-year institution in Utah is $3,891, a solid one-third below the national average of $5,836, according to the College Board. Consider that only the states of Wyoming and Florida as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are cheaper.

The state’s investment in higher education could be much better especially as Utah positions itself to attract a college-educated workforce properly trained to take high-wage jobs which are somewhat difficult to fill. This will become even more critical as employers look toward the inevitable time when a record number of baby boomers retire.

Local newspaper audience ratings report

Just how solid is the market coverage of the three largest daily newspapers in the Salt Lake City metropolitan market of 1.88 million? The newspaper audience ratings figures have been just been released by Scarborough Research. Three categories are reported for each publication: weekly print audience, weekly online audience, and weekly integrated audience. Coverage percentages are included for each:

Salt Lake Tribune — print (527,000, 28%); online (170,000, 9%); integrated (602,000, 32%)

Deseret News — print (362,000, 19%); online (126,000, 7%); integrated (429,000, 23%)

Provo Daily Herald — print (135,000, 7%); online (40,000, 2%); integrated (155,000, 8%)

Downtown sustainable living festival May 10

Salt Lake Downtown Alliance will sponsor Live Green: The Fifth Annual Downtown Sustainable Living Festival Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the City Library Square. This, undoubtedly, has become one of the state’s largest events dedicated to raising the public’s environmental conscience.

With at least a dozen sponsors and more than 100 vendors, the event will present information about alternative transportation options, gardening, products and businesses dedicated to models of environmental sustainability, advocacy groups, eco-friendly activities for children, food and beverages, and a wide-ranging agenda of speakers and entertainment.

Highlights include a sustainable music stage, literally powered by audience members. Shake Your Peace!, Sonya Cotton Band and Calico Sounds will perform, courtesy of a pedal-powered sound system. The festival also will be a stop for Shake Your Peace!, a folk band based out of San Francisco, which is making its third rock and roll bicycle tour of Utah, covering more than 300 miles.