SALT LAKE CITY (Dec. 22, 2023) — Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for November 2023 increased an estimated 2.0% across the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 34,700 jobs since November 2022. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,744,100.
November’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is estimated at 2.8%, a one-tenth of a percentage-point increase over October. Approximately 50,300 Utahns are unemployed. Utah’s October unemployment rate is unrevised at 2.7%. The November national unemployment rate decreased two-tenths of a percentage-point to 3.7%.
“Utah remains in a job-growth mode centered around the 2% range," said Mark Knold, Chief Economist at the Department of Workforce Services. "This is slightly below the state's long-term average and the economy has rotated around this focal point for the past several months. Reduced in-migration this year is a leading reason for Utah’s growth moderation. Also, the inflation-fighting procedures employed by the Federal Reserve are producing more of an economic dampening effect this year than they did last year. But given those headwinds, Utah is still pushing forward with job growth.”
Utah’s November private sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 1.8%, or a 26,800-job increase. Eight of the ten major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains. The overall job gains are led by leisure and hospitality services (10,000 jobs), education and health services (8,500 jobs), construction (3,600 jobs), and information (2,800 jobs). The two sectors with job losses are trade/transportation/utilities (-3,800 jobs), and natural resources (-100 jobs).
Additional analysis and tables at https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/update/index.html
County unemployment rates for October will post on or shortly after December 26, 2023, at https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/update/une/season.pdf
December’s employment information will be released at 7 a.m. on Friday, January 19, 2024.
Statistics generated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C., modeled from monthly employer (employment) and household (unemployment) surveys.
Largest private sector gains in the past year:
Leisure and hospitality services: 10,000 jobs
Education and health services: 8,500 jobs
Construction: 3,600 jobs
Information: 2,800 jobs
Largest private sector losses in the past year:
Listen to Chief Economist Mark Knold’s analysis of the November 2023 employment report here: