SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for May 2022 increased an estimated 3.5% across the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 55,500 jobs since May 2021. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,662,300.
May’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate is estimated at 2.0%, with approximately 34,100 Utahns unemployed. April’s unemployment rate remains unrevised at 1.9%. The May national unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%.
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“Utah’s economic performance continues to push along at a strong pace,” said Mark Knold, Chief Economist at the Department of Workforce Services. “The unemployment rate remains at an historically low level, and job growth is still one of the nation’s best. The job growth rate has been abating as the year has progressed. This is expected and is a reflection of the current performance compared to a Utah economy that was rapidly improving a year ago. As this year progresses, the more the economy improves from a year ago, the more this year’s job growth will trend downward. We anticipate that by later this year Utah’s job growth rate will be around its yearly average of 3.0%.”
Utah’s May private sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 3.7%, or a 50,100 job increase.
Eight of Utah’s ten major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains:
- Trade, Transportation, Utilities (11,100 jobs)
- Leisure & Hospitality (10,800 jobs)
- Construction (8,100 jobs)
- Education and Health Services (7,500 jobs)
Two private-sector groups saw job contractions:
- Professional and Business Services (-500 jobs)
- Financial Activities (-400 jobs)
