Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 3

[(Eco)nomy_404]

Utah unemployment rate edges down, employment up.


Phot by dooce.com

The unemployment rate in Utah edged down an additional tenth-of-a-percent in May 2013, sinking to a 4.5-year low of 4.6%. At the height of the state`s employment boom in March 2007, only 2.5% of the total state workforce of 1,358,655 were out of work. From the record-low levels of 2007, unemployment soared to a recession high of 8.4% two and a half years later. By December 2009, the state had lost 104,388 jobs from early 2007. Since then, the state has been able to recover 71,117 jobs, pushing the unemployment rate down to 4.6%. Over the same time period, the state`s labor market has increased by 30,061 due to population growth. Adding the new eligible participants in the state labor market to the number of jobs lost to the recession, Utah has lost a real figure of 63,332 jobs from March 2007 through May 2013.

Utah Job Market: March 2007 – May 2013
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LASST49000003

104,388 – Jobs Lost to Recession
71,117 – Jobs Gained Since Recession
33,271 – Net Job Growth (March 2007-May 2013)
30,061 – Natural Increase in Labor Market (Population Growth)
63,332 – Total Real Jobs Deficit

Compared nationally, Utah`s 4.6% rate is well below the national average of 7.6%. The state ties for 5th place along with Iowa and Wyoming for the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Notably, California`s unemployment rate has improved substantially recently, dropping almost 4% in just 2 years and 8 months. The state went from its recession high of 12.4% in late 2010 to a 4.5-year low of 8.6% in mid-2013, falling nearly half a percent over just the past month.

Best States:

1) 3.2% - North Dakota
2) 3.8% - Nebraska
3) 4.0% - South Dakota
4) 4.1% - Vermont
5) 4.6% - Iowa, Utah, Wyoming

Worst States:

46) 8.8% - North Carolina
47) 8.9% - Rhode Island
48) 9.1% - Illinois, Mississippi
50) 9.5% - Nevada

http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm