Utah job market still outpaces nation
Text 
No comments [ Add Comment ]By Jeff DeMoss
Standard-Examiner staff
jdemoss@standard.net
O
The statewide job growth rate for September was 4.4 percent, down slightly from 4.5 percent in August and 4.7 percent in July. Utah has created about 53,500 new jobs in the past year.
The six Top of Utah counties combined -- Davis, Weber, Box Elder, Morgan, Cache and Rich -- have added more than 8,400 jobs in the past year for a growth rate of 3.2 percent.
The statewide unemployment rate for the month was 2.7 percent, virtually unchanged over the past four months. The statewide rate hit an all-time low of 2.3 percent in February.
Even with the slight move downward in job growth, Utah remains "far and away the best-performing state in the nation," said Mark Knold, senior economist for DWS.
However, Knold said growth will likely taper off into the 3 percent range by early 2008.
"The economic environment is currently maintaining its strength, but I also believe it is on the cusp of losing some energy," he said. "With Utah's strong growth about to enter its fourth year of robust activity, the odds of continuing at this pace diminish."
He said the top reason for the state's expected boom -- a strong influx of young Utahns entering the labor market -- has passed its peak. Another factor is the housing market. The rapid price increases of recent years have reached a level that is straining the market, and local prices will likely level off or decline soon, Knold said.
"We are already seeing new home building slow, and though nonresidential building is still strong, the housing slowdown will have some softening influence," he said.
The United States unemployment rate for September was 4.7 percent, up from 4.6 percent in August, the Labor Department reported earlier this month. Job growth nationwide increased from 1.1 percent in August to 1.2 percent in September.
