After a dip below 2%, Utah jobless rate ticks back up

After briefly dipping below 2 percent in April, Utah’s unemployment rate ticked back up to that mark in May, according to a report released by the Utah Department of Workforce Services. The figure means just over 34,000 Utahns remain unemployed.

April’s national jobless rate remained steady at 3.6 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Meanwhile, Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment report for May found the number of employed workers increased an estimated 3.5 percent over the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 55,500 jobs since May 2021. Utah’s current total job count stands at 1,662,300.

“Utah’s economic performance continues to push along at a strong pace,” said Mark Knold, chief economist at the Department of Workforce Services. “The unemployment rate remains at an historically low level and job growth is still one of the nation’s best. The job growth rate has been abating as the year has progressed. This is expected and is a reflection of the current performance compared to a Utah economy that was rapidly improving a year ago. As this year progresses, the more the economy improves from a year ago, the more this year’s job growth will trend downward. We anticipate that by later this year Utah’s job growth rate will be around its yearly average of 3.0 percent.”

Utah’s May private-sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 3.7 percent with a 50,100 job increase. Eight of Utah’s 10 major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains, led by trade, transportation and utilities (up 11,100 jobs); leisure and hospitality (up 10,800 jobs); construction (up 8,100 jobs); and education and health services (up 7,500 jobs). The two industry groups with job contractions were professional and business services (down 500 jobs) and financial activities (down 400 jobs).{/mprestriction}