TWIN FALLS — Many Magic Valley business owners have had to rapidly adjust to a dramatically changed U.S. economy.
“I think that some industries have been able to adapt quickly and sort of weather the storm,” Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Shawn Barigar said. “That said, there are some businesses that are struggling very hard.”
Gov. Brad Little talked Thursday to Magic Valley business leaders about Idaho’s economy. The governor ran through a lengthy list of statistics that painted a relatively rosy picture of Idaho’s economic situation. The Gem State has been resilient, he said.
“Idaho’s economy is doing phenomenally well compared to other states right now,” Little said to a socially distanced group at the College of Southern Idaho. “And we hope that holds.”
During his address, Little said that Idaho has been leading, or nearly leading, the country in economic recovery based on several metrics.
“Today Idaho is the No. 1 state for economic momentum,” Little said. Idaho is leading the country in personal income growth, too, he noted, calling that stat his favorite.
Gov. Brad Little addresses the business community Thursday during a Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerce event at CSI in Twin Falls.
The National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures produce the economic momentum metric. It takes into account personal income growth, employment growth and population growth.
On top of that, Idaho’s ranked first in financial solvency, Little said. That essentially means the state has the least debt.
“It means we’ve got a budget surplus today — which is mind boggling to me — of over a half a billion dollars,” Little said.
Idaho has been relatively fortunate in terms of employment recovery as well. Back in August, Idaho had the third lowest unemployment rate in the U.S. at 4.2%. That slipped to 6.1% last month, the 16th best in the country.
Little emphasized for business leaders that he doesn’t anticipate unemployment insurance taxes to go up as a result of the pandemic.
“Idaho’s small businesses and employers will not see huge tax increases,” he said, adding that the state used federal pandemic assistance funds to add $200 million to the its unemployment trust fund to make it solvent.
The former rancher said if the state’s economy remains in good shape, he’ll fight to increase education spending and transportation infrastructure spending in 2021.
“We must keep pace with the growth that we’re experiencing and additional investment in these areas is needed,” Little said.
The hospitality sector could be facing tough times this winter. Barigar noted that, for the most part, the Magic Valley doesn’t see much winter visitation. Hotels did better than expected this summer, but there could be rough months ahead.
Overall, Barigar maintained a positive outlook on the coming months and years.
“I’m optimistic we’ll come out more resilient, better connected and able to adapt,” he said. “But it’s going to take some sacrifice and pain from a lot of folks.”
The Link LonkOctober 30, 2020 at 08:15AM
https://www.bigcountrynewsconnection.com/news/state/idaho/idahos-economy-is-doing-phenomenally-little-talks-state-finances-with-magic-valley-business-leaders/article_2d51d988-2f04-5b21-b93b-611baca9b672.html
'Idaho's economy is doing phenomenally': Little talks state finances with Magic Valley business leaders - bigcountrynewsconnection.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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