Utah 'economic dynamism' No. 1
State's economy 12th overall in national index
A report released Tuesday says you are, and, what's more, it's the hardest-charging dynamo in the country.
While Utah had divergent results in various categories in the 2007 State New Economy Index, it finished tops among all states for "economic dynamism."
The report, released by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and available at www.kauffman.org/neweconomy, gauges "the degree to which state economies are knowledge-based, globalized, entrepreneurial, information technology-driven and innovation-based."
"When you look at the report, I see a lot of things we're doing really well," said Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development. "When it comes to dynamism, we're No. 1. That's a very important piece of economic development. It shows that many of our key initiatives are doing very well. It shows the entrepreneurial spirit in the state and how important those particular aspects are for our economy."
The report's economic dynamism rankings were based on jobs in fast-growing "gazelle" firms (those with annual sales revenue growing 20 percent or more for four straight years), the degree of job churning, the number of Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Inc. 500 firms, the number and value of companies' initial public offerings, the number of entrepreneurs starting new businesses and the number of individual inventor patents issued.
In overall rankings, Utah was 12th — not quite as strong as in 1999, when it was sixth but up from 2002's placement of 16th. The report noted that it used different indicators and methodologies for each report, so the total scores are not necessarily compatible and a state's movement does not necessarily reflect changes in its economy.
Richard Nelson, president and chief executive officer of the Utah Technology Council, said the report was "good news for Utah and Utah's high-growth companies." Utah's rankings were "impressive," especially its top-five rankings in several categories.
"With a governor who is tech-savvy and has put an emphasis on collaboration, Utah's innovative and entrepreneurial economy is thriving," Nelson said.
He said the dynamism ranking is not surprising when the underlying components are considered. "We've long known that the Inc. 500 high-growth companies have underscored Utah's success," he said. "In fact, the Inc. 500 highlighted Utah as the epicenter of high-growth companies just three years ago."
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