Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for April 2019 grew by an estimated 3.2 percent, adding 48,600 jobs to the economy since April 2018. Utah’s current employment level registers 1,555,400. March’s year-over job growth rate of 3.0 percent was revised up to 3.1 percent.
April’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 2.9 percent is down from March’s 3.0 percent and marks the lowest rate in Utah since December 2007. Approximately 46,000 Utahns were unemployed and actively seeking work during the month. The national unemployment rate lowered two percentage points to 3.6 percent. This is the nation’s lowest unemployment rate since 1969.
“Utah’s combination of strong job growth and markedly low unemployment mirrors the robust economic climate last seen in 2007,” reported Mark Knold, Senior Economist at the Department of Workforce Services. “Given these conditions, this is the most favorable Utah job market in 12 years for college and high school graduates to be seeking employment.”
Utah’s private sector employment grew by 3.5 percent year-over with the addition of 43,800 positions. All 10 of the private sector industry groups measured in the establishment survey posted net job increases in April. The largest private sector employment increases were in Leisure and Hospitality (9,000 jobs); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (7,900 jobs); and Education and Health Services (6,900 jobs). The fastest employment growth occurred in Information (6.2 percent); Leisure and Hospitality (6.0 percent); and Manufacturing (4.6 percent).
