BUSINESS + ECONOMY
Utah reports lowest unemployment ever at 2.2%
Nov 19, 2021, 7:14 AM | Updated: 8:03 am
A “now hiring” sign is pictured at Salt Lake Running Company in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — The state of Utah just reported its lowest unemployment rate ever. Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment in October fell to an all-time low of 2.2% with approximately 37,400 Utahns unemployed.
That number falls well below the national unemployment rate of 4.6%.
With that record unemployment rate, Deputy Director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services Nate McDonald said it’s bringing some challenges to employers.
“That is the lowest unemployment rate the state has on record. So that’s, that’s exciting news. And we love hearing that. But with that being that low, there’s also some challenges that come with that.
“Employers are finding [a] challenge [of finding labor]. So it’s great to be at that low of unemployment because people are working and there are jobs. But employers are having a hard time,” McDonald told KSL NewsRadio.
But even with that challenge, he said the state continues to see a lot of job growth. In October, DWS reported a job growth of 3.7% which accounts for 58,000 new jobs.
In that growth DWS said eight of the ten major private-sector industries they track have seen net two-year gains in jobs.
Those were trade, transportation and Utilities (20,900 jobs), professional and business services (15,500 jobs), construction (10,800 jobs) and Manufacturing (7,900 jobs).
McDonald joined Utah’s Morning News to break down all the numbers. You can listen to the full conversation below.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
