Utah's 2.7 percent jobless rate 2nd-best in the nation

With not much farther to fall, Utah’s unemployment rate stayed at 2.7 percent in June, the same rate as May. The rate puts Utah No. 2 nationally for the best jobless rate, trailing only Nebraska’s 2.5 percent. New Hampshire and South Dakota are the only other states reporting unemployment below 3 percent — both at 2.9 percent.

According to figures released by the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS), a 2.7 percent unemployment rate means approximately 44,200 people in the state looking for jobs.

The June national jobless rates came in at 5.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for June increased an estimated 3.3 percent over the past 24 months, with the state’s economy both returning and adding a cumulative 51,300 jobs since June 2019. Utahn currently hold about 1,603,500 jobs, DWS said.

“The summer months have brought a firm awakening to the Utah economy,” said Mark Knold, chief economist at DWS. “The two-year job growth measure increased from 2.3 percent in May 2021 to 3.3 percent in June 2021. A full percentage-point increase in essentially one month speaks to the rapid re-emergence of Utah’s economy, despite rumblings of labor shortages. The amount of job growth in the past month implies that, even with labor scarce, a decent amount of new labor has been found.”

Utah’s June private-sector employment recorded a two-year expansion of 4.3 percent. Six of Utah’s 10 major private-sector industry groups posted net two-year job gains, led by professional and business services (17,900 jobs); trade, transportation and utilities (16,400 jobs); construction (13,100 jobs); and manufacturing (8,200 jobs). Four industry groups with less employment than two years ago are leisure and hospitality services (down 6,900 jobs), other services (down 1,800 jobs), natural resources and mining (down 1,400 jobs) and information (down 800 jobs).