Utah Overview

Utah has a varied economy that closely mirrors the nation’s, with slightly higher representation in construction, durable manufacturing, retail and finance. This diversity, which helped the state’s 1.3 million workers weather the recession, is expected to support strong improvement in the Utah job market and overall economy.

Utah Job Opportunities

The Beehive State’s natural attractions and business opportunities continue to draw new residents. Business sectors playing to Utah’s strengths are the focus of economic development: aerospace and aviation, defense and homeland security, energy and natural resources, financial services, life sciences, outdoor products and recreation, and software development and information technology.

Most Utah jobs are provided by the trade, transportation and utilities and government sectors, followed by professional/business services and education/health services. All sectors added jobs in 2011 and into early 2012, with the professional/business services and manufacturing sectors showing especially strong growth.

Utah Employment Trends

Utah’s relatively positive job conditions are reflected in the state’s unemployment rate, which peaked at 8.3 percent in early 2010 and had fallen to the 6-percent range by the first half of 2012 . Utah payrolls have been positive since mid-2010 and were particularly strong in early 2012. Online hiring has shown milder job gains over the past year.

Moody’s Analytics forecasts employment in Utah to increase 1.9 percent between Q2 2012 and Q2 2013, higher than the 1.3 percent growth expected in the national job supply.