Utah's employment growth slows

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Although Utah's economy is expected to stay strong, employment growth has begun to slow due to labor shortages.

Utah's December unemployment rate stayed the same as November at 2.6 percent, which is significantly lower than the U.S. rate of 4.5 percent, the Utah Department of Workforce Services reported Tuesday.

With Utah's unemployment rate this low, the labor supply is restricted, acting as a "dampening factor upon economic growth instead of an enhancer," said Mark Knold, senior economist for DWS.

The job growth rate in December fell to 4.7 percent from November's 4.9 percent.

Employment growth has reached and surpassed the top of the business cycle, according to the DWS, and will slow from here forward.

"The economy has reached a point that it wants to grow faster but it can't because there just aren't enough workers to fill the seats," Knold said.

Utah has created 55,700 new jobs in the past year, according to DWS. Job growth has been reported among all major employment sectors, Knold said, led by construction, which created 13,400 new jobs over the past year. Professional and business services, made up of high-paying professional and technical jobs and lower-paying temporary help and telemarketing jobs, added 9,800 new jobs, lower than prior years, but still the second-highest in the past year.

It is lower-paying jobs that are running into labor shortages, Knold said, because employers are unable to pay more aggressive wages.

Although job growth in the Top of Utah averages between 2 percent and 3 percent, below the 4.7 percent state average, it is growing steadily and experiencing what economists call "full employment," said John Mathews, the northern regional economist for DWS.

"Everyone who wants a job can find one," he said.

"The bottom line is that growth will slow, but it will still be solid growth," Knold said. "To the consumer and business on the street, it will feel like no change at all. Jobs will be available, wage growth will continue, and labor will remain tight."

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