Jobless rate down again, now 4.1%

Utah’s nation-best jobless rate continues to drop to near pre-pandemic levels. August’s rate was reported at 4.1 percent, down significantly from July’s 4.5 percent.

August’s national unemployment rate dropped from 10.2 percent in July to 8.4 percent in August.

“Utah’s economy continues along its path of improvement,” said Mark Knold, chief economist at Utah’s Department of Workforce Services (DWS). “The unemployment rate dropped again and remains one of the nation’s lowest. While the overall pace of job re-engagement is unchanged from July, there was an underlying employment improvement in the private sector, which is the Utah economy’s foundational and market-driven component. It speaks to the energy and prospects within the Utah economy.”

Utah’s total nonfarm employment remains down slightly from a year ago, DWS reported. There are 25,300 fewer Utahns holding jobs than in August, 2019, a 1.6 percent drop. That leaves the current employment level at 1,534,000.

Utah’s August private-sector employment recorded a year-over-year drop of 1.6 percent, an improvement over July’s 2.1 percent deficit. Four of 10 private-sector major industry groups posted net job gains in August, including construction (8,400 jobs); trade, transportation and utilities (5,200 jobs); other services (1,500 jobs); and financial activities (1,400 jobs). The industry groups posting the most employment declines were leisure and hospitality services (26,600 jobs) and professional and business services (6,000 jobs). 

“Of the six industry groups that show year-over-year job loss, all are methodically striving to re-employ workers and continue to show job improvements beyond April’s employment low point,” DWS said in its monthly report.