Utah job growth best in America; unemployment lowest on record
The economy seems to be booming nationwide but Utah is leading the pack. The state’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest point ever in December, tied with two other states for the nation’s best at 2.3 percent. The new number means that approximately 37,900 Utahns were unemployed and actively seeking work during December.
Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate remained stable at 3.5 percent.
“Utah culminates 2019 with a resilient and convincing employment picture,” said Mark Knold, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “The economy continues adding to multiple years of robust job creation. This dynamic has carried Utah to its lowest recorded unemployment rate. The job market is humming along at a feverish pace and is absorbing as much labor as possible.”
Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for December grew by an estimated 3.3 percent over the previous year, having added 50,400 jobs to the economy since December 2018. Approximately 1,599,500 Utahns currently hold jobs in the state.
Utah also leads the nation in total job growth as well as private-sector job growth. The state’s total 12-month job growth tallies 3.3 percent, significantly ahead of the second-place states Arizona and Idaho that are tied at 2.9 percent. Utah’s private-sector job growth leads Arizona and Idaho, 3.6 percent to 3.2 percent.
The Department of Workforce Services reports that Utah’s private-sector employment grew by 3.6 percent year-over-year with the addition of 46,700 positions. Nine of the 10 private-sector major industry groups measured in the establishment survey posted net job increases in December, with only the other services group adding no net jobs. The largest private-sector employment increases were in education and health services (12,400 jobs), construction (9,700 jobs) and professional and business services (7,500 jobs). The fastest employment growth occurred in construction (9.5 percent), education and health services (6 percent) and leisure and hospitality services (3.8 percent).