How employers are fighting for top Utah talent

KUTV — The following information is provided by the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

Hiring and Retaining Quality Employees in Utah Utah’s low unemployment rate at 2.3% (April 2023) and high labor participation rate mean that companies must compete for top talent.

Troy Lamb from the Utah Department of Workforce Services joined Elora to share more about what is going on in the job market in our state.

To help employers build their workforce, the Utah Department of Workforce Services offers the following tips:

1. Know what job seekers value: While competitive wages and benefits are always important when recruiting, job seekers also love flexible schedules, remote work opportunities, a positive company culture, tuition reimbursement and sign-on or referral bonuses.
2. Encourage your existing workforce to share postings: Networking is one of the best ways to find high-quality employees and your current workforce is a valuable resource for posting and sharing job opportunities. Provide incentives for them to bring friends and family to you.
3. Post openings with Workforce Services: Post your job openings for free at jobs.utah.gov/employer and access more than 180,000 active job seekers.
4. Tap into hidden labor pools: Expand your recruitment efforts by considering hiring refugees, youth, individuals with disabilities, veterans, or formerly incarcerated individuals. Workforce Services can help employers access tax credits, free bonding assistance, and other financial incentives when hiring from these untapped labor markets.
5. Develop training programs: Work with Workforce Services to set up on-the-job training programs, internships, or apprenticeships that allow you to train employees to the specific skills you need for certain positions.

Employers implementing these programs are eligible for reimbursements or incentives to help cover the cost of training and mentoring new employees. This helps offset the expenses of new employee training. If you are interested in hiring youth (ages 14 to 24) or sponsoring a paid internship for youth, Workforce Services can help subsidize your training and mentoring costs.

To develop a program specific to your workforce needs, contact your Workforce Development Specialist by visiting jobs.utah.gov/employer.

On the website, you can also post jobs, get access to more than 180,000 active job seekers, find economic data, and more. Additionally, Workforce Services operates 31 American Job Centers statewide you can visit for in-person help. We also hold virtual job fairs every other month where you can connect with hundreds of job seekers. The following virtual job fair is on July 13. Contact your Workforce Development Specialist to sign up for a free booth.

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