Despite a Dip in August, Job Numbers Remain Above Long-Term Average

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Utah Economy Beats Nation

(KCPW News) The number of new jobs created in Utah dropped slightly in August, moving down to 4.5 percent growth over last year. Still, growth remains well above the state's long-term average of 3.3 percent, says Department of Workforce Services economist Austin Sargent:

"It's just a slight softening; something that we've anticipated. As the construction industry starts to slow, we've anticipated our growth rate will slow. We're still substantially stronger than any of the other states and much stronger than the national."

Nationally, employment growth is only 1.1 percent. Utah stands alone as the nation's best performing economy, with approximately 4,500 new jobs added each month. The construction sector continues to be the biggest job maker. Despite a softening market, construction alone added 12,000 jobs in the last 12 months. Sargent says economists have been waiting for the national cooling trend to hit Utah, but the state's economy has proven remarkably resilient:

"It's a very strong labor market for job seekers, [and] it's a challenge for employers to find workers at the wages that they can afford to pay. There's some pressure on wage rates, which also will help to slow [the economy] down a little bit. Just the strength of our economy, the strength of Utah overall, is really remarkable."

Utah's unemployment rate in August was 2.6 percent compared to 4.6 percent nationwide.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW