Carbon’s economy generates employment expansion

By Sun Advocate

Carbon County posted an 8.1 percent employment expansion rate in July.
Last month, 9,389 Carbon residents occupied positions in the local labor market, compared to the 8,689 workers reported by the county in July 2005.
At the state level, Utah’s number of non-farm wage and salaried jobs registered a year-over increase of 4.7 percent in July.
Approximately 53,900 employment opportunities have been created within the last year, raising total wage and salary employment in Utah to 1,194,400.
The rate keeps Utah within the top five states nationwide for employment growth.
Utah’s second primary indicator of labor market conditions, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate registered at 3.4 percent in July, down 0.8 percentage points from the unemployment rate of 4.2 percent registered a year ago in July, 2005.
Approximately 44,000 Utahns were unemployed last month compared to the 52,600 jobless workers reported statewide in July 2005.
“The Utah economy has probably reached the peak of the current cycle of employment growth. I anticipate that, as we finish out the remainder of this year, Utah’s employment growth rate will not rise further. It will probably start to recede a bit, slowly moving back toward the lower 4 percent range,” commented Mark Knold, department of workforce services economist.
“The early indications from July data suggest that this is already beginning. But more data is yet to come, so we won’t carve that in stone just yet. I see two factors causing this moderation. First, Utah’s low unemployment rate implies full employment in the labor market, to the point where finding additional workers for more job expansion may become restrictive. Second, multiple indicators suggest the national economy is slowing, and this is bound to have a small trickle-down affect upon Utah,” explained the DWS economist.
Since July 2005, the United States’ economy has added 1.7 million jobs for a growth rate of 1.3 percent.
The approximately 53,900 employment opportunities created in Utah represent approximately 3.2 percent of all labor force positions added across the U.S. during the last 12 months.
All employment sectors in Utah continued to post job expansion in July.
However, having steadily increased employment for the last three years, the volume of jobs created statewide may be peaking, indicated the DWS economist.
July’s preliminary employment growth rate of 4.7 percent is down from the 4.9 percent peak reported in June.
Utah’s tight labor market and slowing in the nation combine to place the higher probability of future economic activity toward a slowing trend, pointed out Knold.
Construction continued to lead the way in July, creating the most jobs statewide. Approximately 12,700 positions were added in the sector for an employment expansion rate of 14.8 percent.