Jobless rate drops to 3.4% in September

Utah’s unemployment rate slipped lower in September as the  year-over-year job count grew.

The Department of Workforce Services reported that the state’s nonfarm payroll employment in September grew by an estimated 2.4 percent, adding 35,100 jobs to the economy since a year earlier. Utah’s current employment level registers 1,481,100.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point between August and September, to 3.4 percent. Approximately 53,800 Utahns were unemployed during the month and actively seeking work.

{mprestriction ids="1,3"}The national unemployment rate decreased two-tenths of a percentage point from August, to 4.2 percent.

“Utah’s labor market continues to expand, despite losing some momentum in the latter half of the year,” said Carrie Mayne, chief economist at the department. “Employers continue to add to their payrolls, with monthly expansion averaging 43,700 thus far in 2017.”

Utah’s private-sector employment grew by 2.6 percent year-over-year with the addition of 31,000 positions.

Eight of the 10 private-sector industry groups measured in the establishment survey posted net job increases in September as compared to last year, while the natural resources and mining industry decreased by 500 positions and the information industry lost 1,700 positions. The largest private-sector employment gains were in professional and business services (8,800 jobs); trade, transportation and utilities (6,400 jobs); and construction (4,700 jobs).

The fastest employment growth occurred in construction (5 percent), professional and business services (4.3 percent) and other services (4 percent).{/mprestriction}