SALT LAKE CITY (May 6, 2026) — Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for March 2026 increased an estimated 0.6% across the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 10,400 jobs since March 2025. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,768,300.
March’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is estimated at 3.8%, the same as February. Approximately 69,700 Utahns are unemployed. The March national unemployment rate is estimated at 4.3%, 0.1% lower than February 2026.
“The state maintains a steady 3.8% unemployment rate, but the job market is tightening for job seekers, with fewer job openings per unemployed worker,” said Ben Crabb, chief economist with the Department of Workforce Services. “Total job creation is ahead of the national trend, but this expansion is mostly concentrated within a handful of industries.”
Utah’s March private sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 0.8%, or a 11,100-job increase. Four of the 10 major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains. The overall gains are led by professional and business services (9,500 jobs), education and health services (5,500 jobs), and financial activities (2,000 jobs). Leisure and hospitality (-2,800 jobs), trade, transportation and utilities (-1,500 jobs), information (-1,300 jobs), manufacturing (-900 jobs), natural resources (-800 jobs) and other services (-200 jobs) experienced 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.
Largest private sector gains in the past year:
Professional and business services: 9,500 jobs
Education and health services: 5,500 jobs
Financial activities: 2,000 jobs
Largest private sector losses in the past year:
Leisure and hospitality: -2,800 jobs
Trade, transportation and utilities: -1,500 jobs
Information: -1,300 jobs
Manufacturing: -900 jobs
Natural resources: -800 jobs
Other services: -200 jobs