Job growth in Utah increased an estimated 1.4 percent in May, compared with a year earlier, according to statistics released today by the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

About 17,900 new nonfarm jobs were created in the state's economy over the past year.

The May number is lower than the job-growth figure for April, indicating the economy continues to cool. Job growth for April was 1.9 percent, compared with a year earlier.

The state's unemployment rate was 3.2 percent in May, up one-tenth from April's 3.1 percent. About 44,200 Utahns were looking for work in May, compared to 35,000 in May 2007.

The U.S. unemployment rate increased by a half percentage point to 5.5 percent.

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