The employment summary for the state of Utah has been released for the month of June. According to the Department of Workforce Services (DWS), the nonfarm payroll employment increased an estimated 3.2% across the past 12 months.
Alongside that news, the state’s economy added a cumulative 54,200 jobs since June of 2022. Currently, Utah’s job count stands at 1,726,500.
The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for the month of June was estimated at 2.4% and approximately 42,600 Utahns are unemployed. This left Utah’s May unemployment rate unrevised at 2.3%, while the June national unemployment rate moved down one-tenth of a percentage point, sitting at 3.6%.
DWS Chief Economist Mark Knold stated that there is not much that has changed in the Utah economy throughout the first half of the 2023 year.
“Job growth is still strong and the unemployment rate remains very low,” Knold shared. “One thing that has changed is the labor force participation rate. The percentage of Utahns 16 and older who are either working or looking for work has risen to a 14-year high.”
Additionally, the private sector employment for June recorded a year-over-year expansion of 3.3%, or a 47,300 job increase. Nine of the ten major private sector industries posted net year-over-year job gains, which were led by leisure and hospitality services at 17,000 jobs.
This was followed by education and health services with 11,200 jobs, construction with 6,400 jobs and professional/business services with 4,900 jobs. It was reported that the only sector that had an over-the-year employment contraction was financial activities with -700 jobs.