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SALT LAKE CITY — Jobs in the Beehive state are as plentiful as they've been in recent history, a new report indicates.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services stated Friday that the state’s nonfarm payroll employment for May grew by an estimated 2.9 percent, adding 44,200 jobs to the economy since May of last year. Currently, 1,556,400 Utahns are registered as gainfully employed.
For the month, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 2.9 percent was unchanged from the previous month. The report stated that an estimated 45,500 Utahns were without jobs and actively seeking work during the month. Nationally, the unemployment rate also remained the same, registering at 3.6 percent.
The current cycle of very low unemployment is the good side of the economy even though there has been lower job growth of late, said Workforce Services senior economist Mark Knold.
“Jobseeker opportunities remain robust as we continue to experience strong job growth and markedly low unemployment,” Knold said. “While the job growth rate did abate a bit in May, it does not reflect an underlying softening in economic demand."
Year-over-year private sector employment rose 3.1 percent, adding new 39,200 jobs. All 10 of the private sector industry groups measured in the establishment survey posted net job increases in the month of May. Leading the way was education and health services, which added 7,700 new positions; trade, transportation and utilities added 6,600 jobs; and professional and business services adding 6,300 new jobs..
The fastest employment growth happened in information services and the manufacturing sector — both up 4.7 percent — with education and health services up 3.8 percent.
"We're approaching the halfway mark of the 2019 calendar year and the Utah economy to this point is performing quite strongly," Knold said. "We still see the rest of this year on a good footing."
