Utah’s unemployment rate continues to show moderate decreases, with January’s rate coming in at 3.2 percent, down slightly from December’s 3.3 percent, which was revised from the originally reported 3.5 percent, according to data released by the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS). Prior to December, DWS reported a rate of 3.5 percent for both October and November.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a January national jobless rate of 4 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from December.
DWS also reported that Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for January increased an estimated 1.9 percent from the prior year, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 32,800 jobs since January 2024. Utah’s current job count stands at about 1,748,000.
“Utah’s labor market enters 2025 on a strong footing, with broad job growth across industries,” said Ben Crabb, chief economist with the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “The state’s already low unemployment rate decreased in January after holding steady for the last seven months, showing continued tightness in the labor market.”
Utah’s January private-sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 1.6 percent, or a 23,100-job increase. Seven 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 12,200 jobs), construction (up 7,500 jobs) and manufacturing (up 3,000 jobs). Trade, transportation and utilities (down 2,200 jobs); information (down 400 jobs); and professional and business services (down 400 jobs) experienced slight 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.