Utah's job picture picked up steam in June

From a Utah jobs' perspective, few months since the onset of the Great Recession have been as good as June.

The state had 44,600 more residents on payrolls last month than in June 2013, a 3.5 percent year-over-year gain. At the same time, Utah's unemployment rate also hit the 3.5 percent mark, falling 0.1 percent since May.

"June's job growth is the highest thus far in 2014, both in terms of rate and numerical change — a growing job market aligns with the downward trend in the unemployment rate over the last three months," Carrie Mayne, the Utah Department of Workforce Services' chief economist, said in releasing the monthly figures Friday.

The state's workforce grew by 3.5 percent in July 2103 as well, but that number appears to have been an anomaly. Utah's employment rolls increased by just 2.2 percent in June '13. In the year since then, the new job-growth rate never exceeded 2.9 percent and fell as low as 1.8 percent last December.

All 10 sectors of Utah's economy showed job gains, Mayne noted. The largest percentage jump occurred in construction (up 9.2 percent, or 6,900 job). The trade, transportation and utilities sector added the most jobs — 9,100, up 3.7 percent).

For the first six months of 2014, Utah's economy has added 17,000 jobs. The growth rate is comparable to that of 2013, Mayne said.

mikeg@sltrib.com

Twitter: @sltribmikeg