The state’s unemployment rates for April 2021 have been announced by the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS). The rate is at 2.8% with 46,600 Utahns that are currently unemployed.
From April 2019 to now, the state of Utah’s economy has successfully added a cumulative 35,600 jobs and the current employment level is 1,589,900. It was also stated that the unemployment rate nationally has risen to 6.1%.
In regard to Carbon County, the global pandemic continues to affect the economy in the fourth quarter. In April 2020, Carbon County peaked at 9.2% unemployment, but that rate has fallen considerably over the past year, according to the DWS. Though large sectors lost jobs throughout the 2020 year, it was stated that taxable sales and wages improved and initial claims for unemployment insurance are at a low level.
There was a 2.1% loss of jobs in 2020 that corresponds to 194 total positions. The largest losses within the county that were reported by the DWS occurred within the mining sector. Mining was followed by government and leisure/hospitality. When comparing to other counties within Utah, Carbon falls within mid-range for job loss due to the pandemic.
Turning to the Emery County statistics, the DWS stated that unlike many of the county’s neighbors, Emery has already returned to positive job growth in the fourth quarter.
Between December of 2019 and December of 2020, a total of 92 jobs were added in Emery County and recent data shows reduced unemployment and increased average wages. Six of the employment sectors within the county added jobs in the 2020 year, while four of them had minor losses.
The Department of Workforce Services continued its snapshot report on Emery County by sharing that the largest number of jobs were added to trade/transport/utilities, followed by construction and government. Mining and other services lost 31 jobs combined.