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ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP)-- Businesses in southern Utah are finding it harder to find more qualified workers as unemployment rates there are reaching lows and job growth is gaining momentum.
More than 850 people who attended the Washington County Economic Summit Wednesday got an update of the county's economic situation and how it affects business in the area.
According to Salt Lake-based Thredgold Economic Associates, unemployment in St. George was at 3.5 percent in 2005, while year-over-year job growth increased 10 percent, creating an estimated 4,300 jobs.
Estimates through the end of last year show unemployment at 2.6 percent and job growth at 8.5 percent.
"With the low unemployment rate here, it's a real challenge," said Bill Wright, vice president of Viracon Inc., a commercial glass fabrication business.
Wright said the company's challenge is finding and retaining more than 100 workers that will be needed for a large factory it's building in the Ft. Pierce Industrial Park.
Textile and chemical company Milliken and St. George Truss Co. Inc. are also seeking new employees.
Population in Washington County is up, however.
The county's regional economist Lecia Parks Langston says the population grew by 6 percent in 2006, putting the county at the top of the Utah Populations Estimate Committee report.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
