For the first time this year, Utah’s unemployment rate saw a small increase in May, increasing one-tenth of a percentage point to 2.9 percent, leaving an estimated 51,900 Utahns still looking for work, according to data released by the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS).
The national unemployment rate also saw a one-tenth of a percentage point hike to 4 percent for the same period.
DWS also reported Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for May increased an estimated 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 38,100 jobs since May 2023. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,759,600.
“Strong job gains in manufacturing and construction, along with hiring in the public sector, have helped maintain solid overall job growth,” said Ben Crabb, chief economist at DWS. “Industries that have faced challenges recently, including financial activities, information and leisure and hospitality, are seeing some improvement as the May employment estimates show a state economy expanding at a healthy pace, reinforcing a positive outlook of steady growth for the remainder of the year.”
Utah’s May private-sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 1.8 percent, or a 25,700-job increase, DWS said. Eight of the 10 major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains. The overall gains are led by education and health services (up 10,600 jobs), construction (up 6,500 jobs) and manufacturing (up 4,000 jobs). Financial activities (down 100 jobs) and information (also down 100 jobs) were the only sectors with year-over-year job losses.
Additional employment data tables and analysis, including county unemployment rates, can be accessed at https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/update/index.html.