First, the bad news: Utah’s unemployment rate rose a tenth of a percentage point last month to 3.6 percent. Now for the good news: economists say the slight uptick means the ongoing economic recovery is encouraging more workers to reenter the jobs market.
Here in Washington County, unemployment dropped to 4 percent in June, the lowest its been since the Great Recession hit in 2007-2008. Even better news: our county’s job growth rate boomed to 6.3 percent last month.
The numbers are powerful indicators that Washington County business is on the leading edge of not only the state’s recovery, but the nation’s economic recovery as well.
To our north, Iron County’s numbers also shine: a 4.3 June employment rate is paired with a 4.7 percent job growth rate.
Over the past year, Utah’s economy has added nearly 46,000 jobs, which translates to a 3.6 percent growth rate. The jobs expansion is across the board: all 10 private sector industries tracked by the Department of Workforce Services report year-over-year increases.
The department’s chief economist said last month’s job growth was the highest of the year, making it likely that people just entering the jobs market, or reentering it, are going to “find many employment opportunities.” Of course, when jobs are growing, businesses are likely to be experiencing revenue increases as well as improved confidence about future company performance.
For many owners, that means it’s time to sit down with a business attorney to discuss real estate transactions, employment law, contracts and other expansion-related issues.
Source: St. George Spectrum, “More Utahns looking for work as job growth continues,” David DeMille, August 17, 2014