Jobless rate back to its record low

With Utah’s unemployment rate leading the nation, there’s not much room for improvement. In February the jobless number ticked back down to 2.1 percent, matching the all-time low it reached in December. The rate means about 35,300 Utah residents remain without work.

Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate continues to drop, reaching 3.8 percent in February.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for February 2022 has increased an estimated 4.2 percent over the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 66,000 jobs since February 2020. The current number of employed Utahns stands at 1,646,500.

“The Utah economy continues to move forward on strong footing,” said Mark Knold, chief economist at the Department of Workforce Services. “All of Utah’s major industry sectors have returned to, or are exceeding, their pre-pandemic employment levels. Job availability and job hiring are churning at a strong pace. Workers keep getting hired and the unemployment rate continues to decrease. It is now down to 2.1 percent. Few other states have an economy functioning as strongly as Utah’s.”

Utah’s February private-sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 4.5 percent. All of Utah’s 10 major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains, led by leisure and hospitality (up 17,700 jobs); trade, transportation and utilities (up 13,600 jobs); construction (up 5,900 jobs); and education and health services (up 5,600 jobs).{/mprestriction}