"The thing that gets you the most is you know that things change. You know that at some point in time, something will change. You just don't know when, and the hardest part is even what could be the triggering mechanism to do that. But it does seem like we have enough momentum this year that we will probably be able to keep rolling this thing right on through this year and right on into next."

The largest year-over-year percentage job gains are in natural resources and construction. Construction added 13,700 jobs since last summer, or 13.8 percent.

The department's figures show Utah County's job growth of 6 percent is the best for any metro area in the state and probably one of the best in the entire country. That county's construction growth rate is 20 percent year over year.

The department also noted that Washington County's growth rate of 5.2 percent is actually healthy because rates topping 10 percent the past two years have stressed the economy by creating a labor shortage and putting a crimp in maintaining infrastructure.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com