Utah leads the pack in job growth
Oct 15, 2021, 11:24 AM
FILE - In this Sept. 2, 2020, file photo, a help wanted sign hangs on the door of a Target store in Uniontown, Pa. The government issues the jobs report Friday, Sept. 4, for August at a time of continuing layoffs and high unemployment. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
SALT LAKE CITY — Despite falling national employment numbers, Utah is seeing an increase in job growth. The Beehive State is leading the national economic recovery from the pandemic.
The increased job growth isn’t without side effects though, Natalie Gochnour with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute said that, “The unemployment rates are so low right now that it’s feeling like there’s a labor shortage and employers can’t find the workers they need.”
Utah, along with two other neighboring states, is seeing growth while the rest of the country is seeing shrinking employment numbers.
“Idaho, Utah, and Arizona are the only states in the country over the past two year period where the jobs have actually expanded. Utah is in the top spot there. Every other state has contracted over this time frame,” said Gochnour.
Gochnour told the Salt Lake County Council that “job growth in Utah is 3.8 percent over that time period, with about half of that happening in Salt Lake County.”
