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Utahns feeling bleak about near-term economy, ongoing inflation
An unprecedented set of economic conditions have both battered and rewarded consumers over the past year-and-a-half or so with record high inflation wreaking havoc on household budgets at the same time a red-hot jobs market has provided a wealth of new employment opportunities and robust wage growth. But even with average hourly earnings bumping up by 5{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} over the last year, the extra cash has fallen short of inflation-driven price increases and, according to a new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll, concern is outpacing optimism when it comes to the personal economic outlook of most Utahns. When asked to rate their feelings about the economy in the coming year,…