Just last Friday, Utah's latest jobs report showed the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.5 percent while job growth was up to 3.7 percent. In all, Utah added some 47,600 jobs over the past 12 months.
Today, we have an updated picture of how Utah stacks up with the rest of the nation:
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Utah had the third lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 3.5 percent. Only North Dakota (2.8 percent) and South Dakota (3.4 percent) have lower rates.
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Our 3.7 percent job growth has Utah tied for second in the nation, behind only North Dakota (5.0 percent) and Texas (3.7 percent).
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Our private sector job growth is 3.7 percent, tied for third-best in the nation behind North Dakota (5.9 percent), Texas (3.9 percent) and tied with Nevada.
"The governor's vision that Utah would lead the nation as the best performing economy has become a reality," said the governor's spokesman, Marty Carpenter. "While other states compete with us for the nation's best unemployment and job growth rates, we are working to grow our economy in strength and diversity. More and more, businesses recognize Utah is the place they want to invest and grow and that’s good news for all Utahns."
Utah's unemployment rate is also 2.5 points below the national rate (5.9 percent) with the state's job growth out-pacing the nation by 1.7 points (U.S. rate is 2.0 percent).
