New Report Examines Effects of Population Growth

Oct 10, 2008 by KCPW

(KCPW News by Faroe Robinson) A new report from the Utah Foundation finds that Utah had the third fastest growth rate in the nation last year. Foundation president Steve Kroes notes that although population growth is up, unemployment is low.

"We've had huge growth in jobs in this decade, and in fact the job growth has been faster than our population growth, and what that means is people that had been basically sitting out of the workforce were pulled back into the workforce and induced to take jobs, so growth has been a tremendous influence on Utah for the last several years," Kroes said.

Kroes says one main concern with growth is usually an increase in crime, but the report found that Utah has had declining crime rates for ten years. But he notes that population growth puts strains on the education system, which is experiencing a wave of baby boomer grandchildren that's expected to continue for a decade.

Kroes says water issues are another big concern with population growth. Salt Lake County Councilman Jim Bradley agrees, adding that snow pack in Utah is unreliable.

"There comes a point where you have to say, we cannot provide the water, or we cannot provide the clean air, or whatever it may be to sustain the population growth that is happening. And then you might have to look at restricting growth through zoning and planning and housing starts and things like that that make it more difficult to move here or accommodate the growth. That is unfortunate, but down the road that very well may have to happen," Bradley said.

According to the Utah Foundation report, the state's population is expected to be nearly 7 million people in another 50 years. Click here for a link to full report.

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