Utah’s 1.9% unemployment rate is the lowest in history

Main Street, Park City. Photo: TownLift

PARK CITY, Utah — Utah’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 1.9% in December, down from 2.1% in November, according to the Department of Workforce Services (DWS). The national unemployment rate continued to decline, coming in at 3.9% in December.

Utah is one of four U.S. states with more jobs now than before the pandemic.

“As Utah’s economy progressed through 2021, the most striking theme was dwindling labor availability,” said Mark Knold, chief economist at the DWS. “Each month, the unemployment rate moved lower and lower, finally sinking last month into historic territory. The state’s unemployment rate is below 2.0% for the first time ever. This is uncharted territory in terms of such a low unemployment rate and gauging how much lower it can conceivably go.”

Roughly 31,800 Utahns are currently unemployed.

Utah’s economy has added a cumulative 59,200 jobs since December of 2019, an increase of approximately 3.7% across the past 24 months. The state’s current employment level sits at 1,646,900.

County-specific data for December will be released next week. In November, Summit County’s unemployment rate came in at 1.8%.