U OF U’S KEM C. GARDNER POLICY INSTITUTE RELEASES NEW STUDY ON UTAH LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY
August 28, 2018
BioUtah is pleased to share with you the newly released study by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute on the impact of Utah’s life sciences industry on the state’s economy. The study, the “Economic Impacts of Utah’s Life Sciences Industry” can be viewed in full here. The Gardner Policy Institute announced the study’s findings this morning in a press statement.
The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and BioUtah commissioned the study to analyze the role of the life sciences industry in Utah’s economy, including the industry’s contribution to jobs, employee compensation, state GDP and growth.
Total economic impacts in 2017 were significant: 130,439 jobs, $7.6 billion in personal income, and $13.0 billion in state GDP. From 2002 to 2017, the average job growth rate was 3.3 percent per year in Utah’s life sciences industry, compared to 2.1 percent in all other industries in Utah. Employment in the life sciences industry was more stable than employment in other industries.
“Years of strong growth have made the life sciences a vital strategic sector as we anticipate tomorrow’s economic opportunities,” said Levi Pace, senior research economist at the Gardner Policy Institute and lead author of the study.
“The study is welcome news,” said Richard Ji, chair of the BioUtah board of directors and vice president of operations for Clinical Innovations. “It provides fresh, current data about the industry’s economic footprint in the state. The sector is clearly a key driver of good, stable jobs for Utahns and we’re growing fast.”
Gov. Gary Herbert identified the life sciences as one of the state’s six strategic industry clusters because of its breadth, depth and importance to the state’s economy.
“The industry represents quality economic growth through its innovation, exports and high paying employment,” said Juliette Tennert, director of economic and public policy research at the Gardner Policy Institute.