Jobless rate up a little, but job creation strong

As the pandemic rages in Utah, the state’s unemployment rate responded with a slight uptick in November. The jobless rate went up to 4.3 percent from October’s 4.1 percent, according to numbers released by the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS).

The national unemployment rate dropped from 6.9 percent in October to 6.7 percent in November.

“Utah’s job market continues to incrementally improve with thousands of job openings in multiple industries,” said Mark Knold, chief economist at DWS. “Utah’s economy has shown itself to be one of the nation’s best in re-employing workers. While the pace of job improvement has slowed in the last few months, we anticipate continued job gains amidst this moderating trend as the economy moves through the winter months.”

DWS reported that Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for November wa 0.2 percent lower than November of last year, with 2,800 fewer jobs. Utah’s current employment level stands at 1,590,100.

Following the release of the November employment numbers for Utah, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows Utah is ranked No. 2 for total job growth in the U.S. at minus-0.2 percent. In addition, Utah is ranked No. 2 for private-sector job growth at minus-0.1 percent. Idaho leads in both categories. Utah’s 4.3 percent unemployment rate ranks it sixth-best in the nation behind Nebraska (3.1 percent), Vermont (3.1 percent), South Dakota (3.5 percent), Iowa (3.6 percent) and New Hampshire (3.8 percent).

Half of Utah’s 10 private-sector major industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains, including trade, transportation and utilities (10,700 jobs); construction (5,200 jobs); financial activities (4,000 jobs); manufacturing (3,700 jobs); and other services (2,200 jobs). Five industry groups remain with year-over employment declines, including leisure and hospitality services, professional and business services, information, education and health services and mining.