Utah in a jobs boom

Utah's job growth keeps booming while its unemployment rate keeps dropping.

Job growth in the state rose by 4.4 percent for the year ended Feb. 28, according to a report Tuesday from the Utah Department of Workforce Services. The rate remains above the state's long-term average of 3.3 percent, the report said.

Roughly 52,000 new jobs were created in Utah over the past year, with the state's unemployment rate in February falling to a new record low of 2.3 percent, down from 3.2 percent in February 2006. Roughly 1.2 million Utahns are currently employed.

The U.S. job growth rate in the same 12-month period was 1.5 percent. The nation's unemployment rate in February was 4.5 percent.

While Utah job growth is down from the mid-5 percent range of last summer, Mark Knold, chief economist for the state Department of Workforce Services, said current growth is better than expected.

"It's encouraging to see Utah's economy able to maintain above-normal growth with unemployment extremely low," Knold said. "That has to be a signal that we have strong in-migration feeding our labor force growth."

Utah's construction industry continued to dominate new job growth, largely as a result of new home building. Roughly 98,000 people were employed in Utah's construction industry in February, a 15.9 percent increase compared to February 2006.

Knold said he does not believe the Salt Lake market is overbuilt.

"You always have fears in strong economies and strong housing markets that you will overbuild," Knold said. "But the pace of permits is not as high as it was the year before. It's not quite as powerful as it was over the last two years. That's a reflection that the market is reading everything properly and is adjusting to the demand."

Aside from the residential sector, new hospitals, resorts and power plants are driving a building boom across the country and in Utah, according to a report earlier this year by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Brigham Latimer, business development manager for SIRQ Construction Solutions, a South Jordan-based commercial builder, said the company is hiring six more people over the next two months.

"Our work program is heavier now than it has been in the last three years," Latimer said. "Most of our jobs are office space, manufacturing facilities and medical facilities."

Latimer added that SIRQ is offering potential employees stock options to entice qualified workers.

"Most construction companies don't offer stock, and if they do it's not until after a long period of time," Latimer said. "We offer stock in the company right up front."

The Workforce Services report noted that Utah's natural resources and mining industry continued to add workers at 10,600 employees at year-end in February, up 15 percent from 9,200 workers a year ago.

Part of Utah's continued job growth surge can be tied to ideal infrastructure, lower labor costs and cheap utilities. A report earlier this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration ranked Utah eighth in the nation for the lowest average retail price for residential electricity.

"Utah is fortunate to have a very strong economy," the Workforce Services report noted. "The United States economy is lukewarm. ... Will it bring rain to Utah? Currently it seems unlikely."

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