Still falling: Utah unemployment down to 3.1%

Utah’s unemployment rate fell to 3.1 percent in January, just behind South Dakota’s 3 percent for the second-lowest in the nation. The jobless rate means that just over 50,000 Utahns are still actively looking for work, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

The national unemployment rate sits at 6.3 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The winter months have decelerated but not stopped the Utah economic recovery,” said Mark Knold, chief economist at the Department of Workforce Services. “With end-of-year adjustments, December’s employment estimate has been scaled back and the January estimates reflect a slight improvement over the revised December numbers. Yet private-sector employment has returned to employment expansion. It is government employment that is curbing the overall picture — in particular, education employment.”

Utah’s January private-sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 0.3 percent, the department reported. Five of Utah’s 10 private-sector major industry groups posted net year-over job gains, led by professional and business services (9,900 jobs); trade, transportation and utilities (8,100 jobs); and financial activities (4,100 jobs). Five industry groups remain with year-over employment declines, led by leisure and hospitality services (down 12,400 jobs), education and healthcare (down 7,600 jobs) and information (down 1,500 jobs).