SALT LAKE CITY (April 19, 2024) — Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for March 2024 increased an estimated 2.1% across the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 35,600 jobs since March 2023. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,739,500.

March’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is estimated at 2.8%. Approximately 50,600 Utahns are unemployed. Utah’s February unemployment rate is unrevised at 2.8%. The March national unemployment rate lowered one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.8%.

“Statewide job growth has remained centered in the 2% range for much of the last year,” said Ben Crabb, chief economist at the Department of Workforce Services. “This is a bit slower than the state’s long-run average, but it is still impressive after nearly three years of unemployment rates below 3% constraining the labor supply. Utah’s continued jobs expansion has been supported by high rates of labor force participation and continued in-migration to the state, but recent data indicates slowing. As a result, Utah's job growth is tracking more closely with the national rate.”

Utah’s March private sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 1.6%, or a 22,900-job increase. Eight 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 (11,800 jobs), construction (6,600 jobs), manufacturing (1,400 jobs), and leisure and hospitality (1,300 jobs). Financial activities (-1,300 jobs) and information (-100 jobs) were the only sectors with year-over-year job losses.

• Additional analysis and tables at https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/update/index.html

• County unemployment rates for March will post on or shortly after April 22, 2024, at https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/update/une/season.pdf

• April’s employment information will be released at 7 a.m. on Friday, May 17, 2024