The Utah Labor Commission and the Utah Insurance Department have announced a 6 percent reduction in the expected loss cost element of worker compensation rates for 2007.

Utah employers in the voluntary market pay, on average, the sixth-lowest worker compensation premium rates in the nation, according to information from the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc., a provider of worker compensation and employee injury data.

Utah employers pay an average index rate of $1.63 per $100 payroll. California, the highest-ranking state in the nation, averages $6.08. North Dakota, the lowest-ranking state, pays an average index rate of $1.06 per $100 payroll.