Utah’s unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a percentage point again from October to November, a full half-point increase from an all-time low of 2.3 percent in April and May. November’s 2.8 percent represents about 50,300 residents without jobs, according to data released by Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS).
The November national unemployment rate decreased two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7 percent.
Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for November increased an estimated 2 percent in the past 12 months, the department reported. The state’s economy added a cumulative 34,700 jobs since November 2022. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,744,100.
“Utah remains in a job-growth mode centered around the 2 percent range,” said Mark Knold, chief economist at DWS. “This is slightly below the state’s long-term average and the economy has rotated around this focal point for the past several months. Reduced in-migration this year is a leading reason for Utah’s growth moderation. Also, the inflation-fighting procedures employed by the Federal Reserve are producing more of an economic dampening effect this year than they did last year. But given those headwinds, Utah is still pushing forward with job growth.”
Utah’s November private-sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 1.8 percent, a 26,800-job increase, DWS said. Eight of the 10 major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains. The overall job gains are led by leisure and hospitality services (up 10,000 jobs), education and health services (up 8,500 jobs), construction (up 3,600 jobs) and information services (up 2,800 jobs). The two sectors with job losses are trade/transportation/utilities (down 3,800 jobs) and natural resources (down 100 jobs).
Additional employment data tables and analysis, including county unemployment rates, can be accessed at https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/update/index.html.