The Utah Department of Workforce Servicesreleased its employment numbers for August on Friday.
Utah’s non-farm employment grew by an estimated 3.5 percent, which is a tenth percent slower than July’s numbers. Carrie Mayne is the Chief Economist with the Utah Department of Workforce Services. She says there are indications of a notable increase in the number of Utahns leaving the labor force.
“We always expect it to move a little from one month to the next but to have a trend of several months causes us a little bit of concern so we’re going to watch that number,” says Mayne.
She says construction jobs lead job growth but she says growth continues to be strong across all ten private sector industry groups.
“People with different skills in different areas are going to find opportunities for employment,” says Mayne.
August’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate registered 3.6 percent, the same as July’s. An estimated 51,100 Utahns were unemployed and actively seeking work in August. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the national unemployment rate at 6.1 percent for August.
