Utah has the fifth-largest labor shortage in the country

The professional and business services sector in Utah has gained 20,200 jobs in the past two years. Photo: DWS

PARK CITY, Utah — There are 1.45 jobs in Utah for every unemployed person in the state.

That is the fifth-highest number for all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.

“The workers were chased away during COVID,” Mark Knold, chief economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS) told KSL. “The labor force moved on to other things.”

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Utah ended enhanced stimulus checks in June, two months before the national deadline. According to DWS, the number of Utahns currently collecting unemployment (8,925) is nearly the same as before the pandemic.

In the last two years, the manufacturing sector in Utah gained 8,900 jobs. The professional and business services sector in the state gained 20,200 jobs in the same timeframe, meanwhile, trade/transportation/and utilities gained 16,800, and construction gained 11,300.

“For the most part, it’s not a shortage of workers that’s the problem, per se. It’s a sign that employers just need to offer better packages of wages and working conditions to attract workers,” economics professor Robert Triest told CareerCloud.

The Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday that its monthly survey of U.S. service industries — where most Americans work — rose to a reading of 61.9, following August’s reading of 61.7. The gauge hit a record high of 64.1 in July. The July figure was the fastest pace since this data series began in 2008.

Any reading above 50 indicates growth in service industries. The services index has shown growth for the past 16 months after two months of contraction in April and May of 2020 when the coronavirus triggered widespread shutdowns and millions of job losses.

“The slight uptick in the rate of expansion in the month of September continued the current period of strong growth for the services sector,” said Anthony Nieves, chair of the ISM services survey panel. “However, ongoing challenges with labor resources, logistics, and materials are affecting the continuity of supply.”

On Friday, the ISM said its survey of manufacturing industries accelerated last month to the highest level since May, despite global supply chain disruptions.