CEDAR CITY— All of Utah’s major private-sector industry groups have seen net job gains, according to Chief Economist Mark Knold of the Utah Department of Workforce Services in his recent Soundcloud analysis of January 2022’s employment summary. The leisure and hospitality industry led the pack with an increase of 17,500 jobs.
“These gains have brought this industry’s total employment back to equality to where it was when it entered the pandemic,” Knold said. “It had two years of big job losses.”
Leisure and hospitality were among the industries hit the hardest by the pandemic, Knold said, adding that these numbers are a good sign for Utah’s economy.
“We can now largely say that all of Utah’s industries have shaken off the pandemic’s negative impacts,” he said. “We’re poised to move to new heights.”
Other major industries in Utah saw significant gains.
“The large trade and transportation sector added 12,500 new jobs over the past year,” Knold said. “Health Services added 6,500, manufacturing, 6,200, government education, 5,400, and information, 4,800 new jobs, among other industries.”
Nonfarm employment saw an overall increase of 4.1%, with Utah gaining an additional 63,500 jobs since December 2020, according to “Utah’s Employment Summary: January 2022,” released by the state’s Department of Workforce Services on March 2, 2022.
Knold said that January’s estimated unemployment rate is 2.2%, which is the lowest rate ever recorded in Utah.
However, he noted that other factors could explain the low rate of unemployment, including fewer workers who are 16 and older engaged in the workforce than before the pandemic.
“In other words, there are more people now, who have withdrawn themselves from the labor force than before the pandemic,” he said. “Will they eventually return? If they will, then the state’s idle supply of labor is a rate above 2.2%, something more akin to 3.5%. But if these workers do not return, and this is Utah’s new normal, then the 2.2% is the reality.”
Knold noted that December 2021’s unemployment rate has been revised.
“Utah’s historic 1.9% unemployment rate that was estimated for December has now been revised and instead estimated at 2.3%,” Knold said. “But … the underlying story is the same because [the] unemployment rate is currently historically low, whether it’s 2.3% or 1.9%. Both of those numbers tell the same story.”
Knold said that Utah’s labor force is fully employed and finding additional workers might be challenging for some employers. He noted that there were more working-age residents and a higher level of migration than originally estimated.
“Many people come to Utah with a job already in hand, but they may have brought additional family members with them who did not have a job lined up. Therefore, the estimates of the number of people unemployed was revised upward.”
Southern Utah also saw employment rate increases. Since January 2021, Washington County’s nonfarm employment’s estimated increase is 4.8%, from 73,589 to 77,100. In Iron County, nonfarm employment is expected to increase 5.3%, from 21,384 to 22,522.
While saying he doesn’t know the exact reason, Cedar City Mayor Garth Green suggested Iron County’s increased employment rate might be related to new factories being built and an increased consumption of goods, like fast-food, clothes and cars.
He noted there are still job opportunities available for Cedar City residents.
“And we could hire more if we could find them. There’s a ‘for-hire’ sign in every window,” he said.
More employment opportunities are on the horizon, Green added.
“The American Packaging Corporation broke ground here a couple of weeks ago and they’re building a massive building,” the mayor said. “They’re gonna hire 170 people, pay good wages and they bought more property for future expansion.”
“In summary, Utah’s economy is on a solid footing as it enters 2022,” Knold concluded. “Today, it has accomplished the nation’s best state-specific economic rebound from the pandemic.”
For more information, visit the Department of Workforce Services’ website.
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