DWS Press Release

SALT LAKE CITY (May 17, 2024) — Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for April 2024 increased an estimated 2.1% across the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 36,800 jobs since April 2023. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,752,000.

April’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is estimated at 2.8%. Approximately 50,600 Utahns are unemployed. Utah’s March unemployment rate is unrevised at 2.8%. The April national unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.9%.

“After several years of very low unemployment coupled with the recent high interest rates, the labor market is showing some signs of cooling,” said Ben Crabb, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “Job openings, while high, continue to trend downward, and a few industries are experiencing job contractions. Despite these headwinds, the state labor market remains among the best in the nation in job growth and unemployment rates as Utah continues to attract businesses and labor.”

Utah’s April private sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 1.7%, or a 24,400-job increase. Seven of the ten major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains. The overall gains are led by education and health services (12,000 jobs), construction (7,100 jobs), and trade, transportation, and utilities (2,500 jobs). Leisure and hospitality (-1500 jobs), financial activities (-900 jobs), and information (-100 jobs) were the only sectors with year-over-year job losses.

• Statistics generated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C., modeled from monthly employer (employment) and household (unemployment) surveys.