New study shows more women are in Utah’s workforce than ever before

SALT LAKE CITY — In 2023, Utah women’s participation in the labor force was 63.7%, more than 3% higher than it was in 2018, according to a recent study. 

Utah State University’s Women and Leadership Project recently published a report called “Women and Finances − What Utahns Need to Know: A 2025 Update.”

Their data found that Utah has the highest percentage of women who work part-time in the nation. There are also more women in the workforce than ever before. 

The study also found Utah women are more likely to be single, bear fewer children and be older during major family life events.

In the workforce 

Utah women in their teens are more likely to be in the workforce than the average US teen woman. In 2023, more teenage girls were in the workforce compared to 2017, rising about 6.8%. 

COVID was found to have impacted more women than men when it came to employment. Women’s employment declined more than twice as fast as men’s. The report attributes this to jobs mainly held by women, such as education, health, and hospitality, which were the most impacted. 

In addition, women returning to the workforce during the first year after COVID was much slower than that of men, most likely due to taking care of sick family members. But numbers quickly rose again after that first year. 

Financial literacy

While the data shows more women are in the workforce, their financial literacy is behind. Women continue to score up to 10% lower than men when it comes to correctly answering personal finance questions.

This lack of understanding finances most commonly leads to less retirement savings and future investments.

This “financial literacy gender gap” is evident across generations, but according to the report, Gen Z is showing the smallest gap. 

Only 38.0% of Gen Z women could answer personal finance questions correctly compared to 45% of Gen Z men. 

Related: Based on March job postings, Utah employers want workers with AI skills