Utah’s job market showed healthy growth over the year-long period from November 2022 to November 2023, with 34,700 new jobs added. This translates to a 2% increase year-over-year. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remains low at 2.8%, despite a slight increase from the previous month.

The data was released by the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Its Chief Economist, Mark Knold, stated that the state’s economy has been revolving around this 2% job-growth range for several months. However, he mentioned that the growth rate had slightly decelerated, mainly due to a reduced in-migration rate this year.

Notwithstanding these factors, Utah still managed to outperform most states in terms of job growth. It also has a markedly lower unemployment rate than the national average which stands at 3.7%.

The private sector saw a 1.8% year-over-year uptick in job creation, largely driven by the Leisure and Hospitality Services industry sector with 10,000 new jobs, and the education and health services sector which added 8,500 jobs. Conversely, a few sectors reported job losses, namely trade, transportation, and utilities, and natural resources.

More reports and data tables reflecting the state of Utah’s job market can be accessed at https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/update/index.html.

Nationwide, hiring experienced a similar positive trend in November, with employers adding a total of 199,000 jobs. This brought down the national unemployment rate to 3.7%, according to the Labor Department. Job growth was mainly in the health care, government, and manufacturing sectors. Conversely, the retail sector saw a decrease in jobs.

In terms of wage growth, average hourly earnings increased by 12 cents to reach $34.10. This annual increase held steady at 4%, a figure the Federal Reserve is hoping to slow given its relation to rising inflation. Forecasting a more moderate economy in the coming year, economists expect monthly job gains to decrease to about 40,000 by next summer.