December 2, 2011

OCTOBER HOME SALES CONTINUE UPWARD TREND

UB Daily
Sales of previously-owned homes in Salt Lake County in October rose 34 percent compared to October 2010, according to the Salt Lake Board of REALTORS. In October there were 1,009 home sales (all housing types) compared to 752 home sales in October 2010. October was the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year home sales increases.
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GEOENGINEERING COULD SAVE EARTH — OR DESTROY IT
Today in Manufacturing
Should we position "sun shades" over the Earth? There's dozens of ideas to cool the earth, but their side effects are unknown ... continue

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE LOWEST SINCE MARCH 2009
Today in Manufacturing
Unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in over two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy ... continue

HAS US LEARNED THE LESSON OF ENRON?
Today in Manufacturing
Enron's bankruptcy on Dec. 2, 2001, revealed a fraudulent illusion, but it seems both Wall Street and Main Street haven't come to terms with it ... continue

INCORPORATING LESSONS LEARNED
Today in Manufacturing
Get in the habit of updating, real-time, a checklist of 'bite-me' notes directly into your product development roadmap ... continue

A ROSY PICTURE FOR NEAR-TERM MANUFACTURING
Quick Manufacturing News
ISM reports 52.7% increase in Purchasing Managers' Index Click to continue

FORGET EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT -- ARE THEY HAPPY?
Quick Manufacturing News
As the economy improves and more companies start hiring, employers need to start paying more attention to the happiness of their employees or they will go elsewhere. Click to continue

DEERE CEO SAM ALLEN ON U.S. MANUFACTURING COMPETITIVENESS
Quick Manufacturing News
The chairman discusses the company's strategies for retaining talent, John Deere's brand recognition around the world, and the current state of U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. Click to continue

INVESTING IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH BEST PRACTICES IMPROVES OUTCOMES FOR INJURED WORKERS
Quick Manufacturing News
A new study of occupational health care in Washington state shows that improving medical care for injured workers can dramatically reduce lost work time. Click to continue

CHINA READYING CARBON EMISSION RESTRICTIONS
Today in Manufacturing
Beijing could set absolute caps on its carbon emissions as early as 2020 in a strong effort to reduce its industrial pollution ... continue

EPA BACKS DOWN ON BOILER EMISSIONS RULES
Today in Manufacturing
The agency said it would place emissions limits on the most polluting boilers, while smaller ones could meet the rule through routine tune-ups ... continue

AVOIDING INCIDENTS THROUGH PREVENTION AND PROTECTION
Today in Manufacturing
When an arc flash occurs, an enormous amount of concentrated energy explodes outward from the point of origin ... continue

UNEMPLOYMENT TAX NOTICES ON THEIR WAY TO EMPLOYERS
Tom Bingham, UMA President (UI Advisory Council Member)
Each employer in Utah will be receiving a notice for the Department of Workforce Services, Unemployment Insurance Division, over the next several weeks establishing the UI tax rates for 2012. The letter will look substantially like the one copied below and will explain what the Division has been doing under the direction of the UI Advisory Council, of which the UMA president is a member. We have worked very hard to keep the UI Trust Fund solvent as most state’s funds have lapsed into insolvency. We argued successfully before the Utah Legislature earlier this year to convince them that our effort, both historically and currently, were beginning to show signs of recovering the solvency of the fund. We told the legislative committee that we had a plan in place to resolve the decline in the fund balance and that if our plan did not work we would be back to them to ask them to address additional taxes to ensure solvency. Our plan is working and the fund balance has begun turning around with the triggers historically in place to ensure adequate levels.

While no one likes increases, it is prudent at this point to make this adjustment to continue to move the fund back to acceptable levels to avoid a more serious problem, insolvency.

The letter you will receive explains what is being done for 2012. This is what you can expect to see in the next few weeks:

Dear Employer:

Enclosed is your Unemployment Insurance (UI) Contribution Rate Notice for 2011. Many employers will experience an increase in Contribution (tax) rates this year. With the higher benefit costs associated with the economic downturn, there has been a significant decline in the UI Trust Fund balance over the past two years. The good news is that Utah’s UI Trust Fund remains solvent; however, well over half the states have UI Trust Funds that are currently insolvent and these states are borrowing funds to pay benefits.

It became necessary to increase tax rates including minimum rates for 2011 to increase the reserves necessary to ensure the long-term solvency of the fund. If an employer has not had UI benefit costs charged to its account (during the last four fiscal years), it is entitled to the minimum tax rate known as the “Social Costs” and is the same for all employers. Approximately half of all Utah employers have the minimum UI tax rate of .004 (.4%) for the 2011 rate year. This has increased from .002 (.2%) for the 2010 rate year. While we remain sensitive to any rate increase, the 2011 rate is similar to the 2005 and 2006 minimum rates. Based on our current economic forecasts, the department is hopeful the UI Trust Fund will remain solvent in the coming years. While the new rates will be difficult for many Utah employers, most states have also been required to raise their UI tax rates for similar reasons during this period and Utah employers still have lower average UI tax rates in comparison

An employer’s overall tax rate is based on a statutory formula that factors in several components to insure the solvency of the Trust Fund and to equitably adjust tax rates on employers that are responsible for generating these costs. A significant component of the tax rate is an employer’s past UI benefit charges and taxable payroll for the past four years ending June 30, 2010. The total unemployment benefits paid to your former employees, if any, should agree with the totals found on the Statement of Unemployment Benefit Costs, Form 66, which you receive each quarter. You can also obtain quarterly information of any benefit costs and your taxable wages from our website at http://jobs.utah.gov/ui/employer/login.aspx and logging into your account and going to “Display Benefit Costs” (on the left side of the screen).


The taxable wage base has increased from $28,300 to $28,600 for calendar year 2011. The taxable wage base is the maximum amount upon which contributions are paid on each employee’s wages for the year.


While reviewing your rate notice, please be aware that the Department of Workforce Service is committed to ensuring the Utah UI trust fund remains solvent and all Utah employers are treated equitably and fairly.