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Unemployment rates in all five Utah metro areas were lower in August than they were a year earlier, the Department of Labor said Wednesday.
Logan enjoyed the lowest non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate (4.4 percent vs. 5.2 percent in August 2011). In second place was Salt Lake City (5.4 percent vs. 6.8 percent), followed by Provo-Orem (5.6 percent vs. 6.9 percent), Ogden-Clearfield (5.8 percent vs. 7.2 percent) and St. George (6.8 percent vs. 8.5 a year ago).
The labor forces in each Utah metro grew during the 12-month period.
St. George had the smallest labor force (58,200 in August vs 57,400 in August 2011 ). Salt Lake City's labor force was the largest (608,800 vs. 593,900). No. 3 was Ogden-Clearfield (263,700 vs. 260,700), followed by Provo-Orem (222,700 vs. 222,200) and Logan (67,600 vs. 66,600).
Nationally, rates were lower in 325 of the 372 metropolitan areas. They were higher in 40 areas and unchanged in seven.
Among metros with a population of more than 1 million, the highest unemployment rates were in Las Vegas and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., with jobless rates of 12.3 percent each.