By Gwen Kervin, Regional Economist

The labor force participation rate in the United States is lower now than before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted labor markets in early 2020. However, the country's labor force participation rate has been declining for the past two decades, mainly due to demographic shifts. Although COVID-19 initially affected labor force participation in both Utah and the United States, Utah's labor force participation rate has fully recovered, hovering around 68.5% by the end of 2022, compared to 68.3% in January 2020. The labor force participation rate in the United States was 62.3% at the end of 2022, down from 63.3% in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. More...

SALT LAKE CITY (March 24, 2023) — Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for February 2023 increased an estimated 2.8% across the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 46,000 jobs since February 2022. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,701,000.

February’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate is estimated at 2.4%. Approximately 42,300 Utahns are unemployed. January’s unemployment rate is unrevised at 2.4%. The February national unemployment rate moved upward to 3.6%. More...

SALT LAKE CITY (March 1, 2023) — Utah’s nonfarm payroll employment for January 2023 increased an estimated 2.8% across the past 12 months, with the state’s economy adding a cumulative 46,400 jobs since January 2022. Utah’s current job count stands at 1,680,400.

January’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate is estimated at 2.4%. Approximately 42,600 Utahns are unemployed. The January national unemployment rate has lowered to 3.4%. More...