Among the nation’s largest 150 apartment markets, Provo, UT is the only one that is once again gaining jobs. Provo added roughly 400 jobs to its employment base in June, uplifting the economy by 0.2%. While this was a modest increase, it was the only one seen across the nation’s biggest markets. The next best performances were modest declines of less than 1% (equating to losses of about 1,000 to 3,000 jobs) in College Station, TX and Boise, ID. It’s common for Provo’s economy to perform ahead of the national average. In the five years prior to the downturn, Provo’s economic base increased by an annual pace of 4.8%, while U.S. growth was more reserved at an average of 1.8%. Likely inspired by economic gains, Provo also led the nation for apartment occupancy growth during 2nd quarter. Occupancy climbed 160 basis points in the past three months, to reach a rate of 95.9%.
