Utah's unemployment rate slipped to 4.5 percent in April as the state added 15,900 jobs compared to the same month in 2003, the Utah Department of Workforce Services reported Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted rate was down from a revised 4.8 percent in March, the department said. About 53,500 Utahns were unemployed last month, while 68,500 were without work in April 2003, when the unemployment rate was 5.8 percent.

The year-over increase in nonfarm wage and salaried jobs of 1.5 percent "continues the momentum of employment gains that began in earnest in December," said Raylene Ireland, department director, in a prepared statement. "It's quite encouraging to see employment gains in nearly all industries, including manufacturing. That's a reversal from its rough ride of the past three years."

Utah's employment growth is better than the national uptick of the last few months. The national unemployment rate, announced earlier this month, fell to 5.6 percent in April from 5.7 percent in March as the economy created 288,000 new jobs.

Mark Knold, senior economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, said he thinks the state will continue to do better than the nation as a whole.

"I think we'll outperform the national economy, but yet, we're tied to its performance," he said, attributing Utah's strength in part to its population growth.

"Population growth is an economic driver. With our high birth rates and decent in-migration . . . that seems to push us a little bit ahead of the national performance."

The Utah department said Tuesday that the state last experienced employment gains of the current magnitude in 2001. And while the gains are welcome, the department said, they do not match Utah's long-term history of producing 2.5 percent gains or higher.

"This is what I expected," Knold said. "I thought we would continue to just keep steadily trending upward one or two percentage points at a time. I'm anticipating getting to 1.6 (percent) or 1.7 (percent job growth) next month."

He said such growth should continue as the year progresses, and the chance that it "could produce employment gains around 2.5 percent in Utah next year is still a good, but not a sure, bet."

"There are some troubling indicators that could undermine the economy's strength, though, like rising oil prices and a falling stock market," Knold said. "Both of these events could take their toll if they develop into long-term issues. High energy costs have too often been a trigger for economic downturns. It would be a shame if the current economic rebound lost its punch because of high energy costs."

The latest survey from AAA Utah, released Tuesday, shows that the state's motorists are paying an average of $2 per gallon for unleaded gasoline, a 15-cent increase from last month and a 44-cent increase from last year.