Before the Thirty Years’ War, Ulmet was the biggest municipality in the middle Glan valley, and it held this distinction into the middle of the 19th century. This can be ascribed exclusively to a sound agricultural economy. Thus, with industry's rise came a loss of status for Ulmet. After the Second World War came a drop in population, due not least of all to young people “fleeing the countryside” ("Landflucht" in German) and going to the cities. Counting commuters at their workplaces disadvantaged their home communities and weekend commuters’ families’ homes, too, when it came to allocating funds from investment stock and income tax assessment.