The Hinckley Insitute Radio Hour — This week on the program, we air an Informed Decisions 2020 panel on COVID-19, its economic impact and how Utah can recover from what many are calling the pandemic recession.
According to data from the U.S. Labor Department, from August to September Utah’s unemployment rate rose from 4.1 to 5 percent. That represents about 82,000 Utahns looking for work. This number is double what it was at the beginning of 2020 when Utah was enjoying an all-time low in unemployment. While Utah is still beating the national unemployment average of 7.9 percent, the hit to the economy is being felt in every part of the state even as COVID-19 cases continue to spike.
Today’s panel takes a closer look at how this year’s global health crisis has affected Utah’s economy, how the state can recover and what voters need to know when marking their ballot. The panelists include Peter Phillips, professor of economics at the University of Utah; Mark Knold, senior economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services; Nubia Peña, director for the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs, and Phil Dean, interim executive director for the Governor’s Office of Management & Budget. Today’s forum is moderated by Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
This forum was put on in partnership with the Gardner Policy Institute and the University of Utah’s Political Science Department.
This forum was recorded on October 21, 2020.
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