ST. GEORGE — Utah’s payroll employment for non-farm jobs increased by an estimated 2.0% during the last year, according to a recent press release.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services reported the state’s economy added a cumulative 34,700 jobs between November 2022 and 2023. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,744,100.
“Utah remains in a job-growth mode centered around the 2% range,” Chief Economist Mark Knold said. “This is slightly below the state’s long-term average and the economy has rotated around this focal point for the past several months. Reduced in-migration this year is a leading reason for Utah’s growth moderation.”
Approximately 50,300 Utahns are unemployed, state officials noted, and the state’s unemployment rate is unrevised at 2.7% from the previous month. The national unemployment rate decreased two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7%.
“The inflation-fighting procedures employed by the Federal Reserve are producing more of an economic dampening effect this year than they did last year,” Knold added. “But given those headwinds, Utah is still pushing forward with job growth.”
Utah’s private sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 1.8% or an increase of 26,800 job opportunities. Eight of the 10 major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains.
The overall job gains are led by leisure and hospitality services (10,000 jobs), education and health services (8,500), construction (3,600) and information (2,800). The two sectors reporting job losses are trade/transportation/utilities (-3,800 jobs) and natural resources (-100 jobs).
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the St. George metropolitan area has added more than 3,000 jobs since June 2023. There are currently 86,635people employed in Washington County and an unemployment rate that mirrors the state at 2.7%.
Iron County also saw job growth of nearly 1,000 jobs during the same period, with 25,367 currently employed.
Ben Krabb, regional economist for Southern Utah, told St. George News the Washington County area experienced 2.2% job growth since this time last year.
“The St. George area continues to expand, although like the rest of the state it has slowed a little bit,” Krabb said. “Still, the economy is expanding and 2% job growth would be the envy of many metropolitan areas in the United States.”
Beaver (2,453) and Kane (4,083) counties both experienced jobs gained in the last year, while Garfield (2,255) joined Carbon as the only two counties in the state reporting fewer jobs than one year ago.
Garfield County lost 173 jobs in the last year, mostly in education, health and hospitality services, while Carbon reported 38 fewer employment opportunities.
“The leisure and hospitality services post-pandemic took a hit statewide,” Krabb said. “The losses in Garfield County could be a result of slower recovery in that part of the state.”
According to a recent study by personal finance company Wallethub, 14 states rank better than Utah in their annual best versus worst states to raise a family.
The company analysts used online data ranging from the median annual family income, housing affordability and unemployment rates in their examination.
Although Utah has the lowest separation and divorce rate in the nation — 1.7 times lower than in New Mexico, the highest rate — researchers rank the state 32nd among the most affordable to live in.
“It’s crucial to consider economic factors when deciding where to raise a family, like the job market, average income and housing costs,” Wallethub analyst Cassandra Happe said. “It’s also important to look beyond dollars and cents, as things like low-quality schools, a bad healthcare system, natural disasters, or a high crime rate can turn the already-stressful process of parenting into a nightmare.”
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