From Deseret News archives:
Utah job growth booming
Almost 52,000 new positions were created in the past 12 months
From engineers and computer system designers to teachers and accountants, new jobs in Utah are springing up everywhere.
With roughly 51,700 new jobs created in the state in the 12 months ended May 31, there are more jobs than can be filled, according to a report released Tuesday by the Utah Department of Workforce Services.
Employment growth in Utah in the past year hit a pace of 4.5 percent. May's unemployment rate registered 3.5 percent, down 0.9 percentage points from the 4.4 percent jobless rate in May 2005. Nationally, the unemployment rate in May was 4.6 percent.
Mark Knold, senior economist for the Department of Workforce Services, said the state's high employment growth and low unemployment rate signal an "economy running on all cylinders."
"Utah's internal fundamentals are such that it could be a multi-year run," Knold said. "The risk of a slowdown is not so much a faltering in consumer demand or business investments. Instead, a lack of skilled workers is the economy's biggest hurdle right now."
With 11,800 new jobs in the past year, construction outpaced all other job sectors in the state.
Alan Rindlisbacher, spokesman for the Layton Cos., the state's largest commercial contractor, said there is more construction work than available manpower.
"I think I speak for everybody in the construction industry that there's a shortage of field laborers to construction management professionals," Rindlisbacher said. "We've gone from the days of newspaper advertising to find new employees to 'position available' signs on our vehicles, and now we're out asking word of mouth."
Rindlisbacher said a Colorado developer recently contacted him regarding a development project in Utah.
"I haven't returned the call yet, not knowing who internally I'm going to give that project to without them saying, 'Enough is enough,' " Rindlisbacher said. "We're very selective about the work that we are able to take on."
Rindlisbacher added that Utah construction companies are being "raided" by out-of-state firms looking for skilled workers.
"Employees are being approached regularly for other opportunities," he said. "It's hard to keep employees because they are also receiving other offers."
Like commercial construction, residential construction also is booming.
The report noted that children of Utah's baby boom population — the "echo boomers" — are the largest population group in the state.
"This is a group ranging from 20 to 35 years of age," the report said. "They are now, and will be over the next 10 years, forming families and households. In turn, this activity will continue to put a high demand on housing construction here in Utah."
Homebuilding in Utah ended 2005 at a record level, with more residential permits issued than in any other year in the state's history, according to the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research. Residential valuation in 2005 reached $4.7 billion, a 31 percent increase over $3.6 billion in 2004.
At 11,600 jobs, the professional and business services sector ranked No. 2 in the most jobs created over the past year. The trade, transportation and utilities sector came in third with 7,600 new jobs.
Utah's job growth rate continues to rank within the top five states nationwide, the report said. The last time Utah experienced an employment growth rate in the mid-4 percent range was in early 1997.
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