Utah’s unemployment rate drops

SALT LAKE CITY – The Department of Workforce Services announced Thursday that there had been a notable decline in Utah’s unemployment rate.

According to a monthly DWS report entitled Utah’s Employment Summary: November 2011,  Utah’s job count had expanded by 2.5 percent when compared to November 2010.

“This is a 12-month increase of 30,300 jobs, and raises total wage and salary employment to 1,227,800.” the report stated.

The increase drops the state’s unemployment rate to 6.4 percent. The national unemployment rate currently stands at 8.6 percent.

The news prompted a response from Gov. Gary R. Herbert.
“This is a good sign,” the governor said. “It means we are on the right road, going in the right direction.”

The DWS report added Utah was one of the better states for employment growth.

“Utah continues to be one of the nation’s leading employment growth states,” the report stated.

The report also noted that nearly all of Utah’s industrial sectors were adding jobs. The only exceptions were construction and government.

Despite the news of economic growth found in the DWS report, Gov. Hebert noted that 85,000 Utahns were still seeking work. That number was too high, he said.

“My number one job is growing jobs, and my administration and cabinet are full-throttle, doing all we can to reach our goal of 100,000 jobs in 1000 days,” Herbert said.

He continued: “We have to stay focused on the basics of economic recovery-education, jobs and energy. I’m convinced if we stay true to prudent budget principles, ensure Utah is business-friendly, and prioritize the basics for economic recovery, Utah’s economic footing will remain sure and our future hopeful.”

The DWS report primarily dealt with employment growth in northern Utah, as it holds the majority of the state’s population and metropolitan areas that make up an estimated 90 percent of the state economy.

November 2011 Unemployment rates for individual counties were not released with the Thursday report, but will be available from DWS on Monday, Dec. 19.

As of October 2011, Washington County’s unemployment rate stands at 9.9 percent.

The county with the lowest rate of unemployment for October was Rich County at 5.7 percent, while the highest was San Juan County with 13.4 percent.

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Copyright 2011 St. George News. This material may not be published or rewritten without written consent.

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2 Comments

  • lavonnezhu December 17, 2011 at 10:34 pm

    Unemployment numbers are comprised of those that are in the job market for the past 30 days. It does not include those that have not been in the job market in the last 30 days: people who have given up looking; those that have gone off unemployment because it has run out. One solution to unemployment is High Speed Universities check it out

  • Greg December 18, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    Can’t wait to see if the unemployment rate goes back up as soon as the holidays are over. The large jump in jobs is mostly temporary holiday help.

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