Utah jobless rate rises to 6.7%

Utah jobless rate rises to 6.7%
Deseret News
Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010 10:10 a.m. MST

Utah's unemployment rate and job losses continue to climb.

The unemployment rate in the state rose to 6.7 percent in December 2009, up 0.4 of a percentage point from November and comparing with a 4.1 percent rate a year earlier.

The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 10 percent in December.

The state figures, compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, were released Thursday by the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

About 91,200 Utahns were considered unemployed in December, compared with 57,300 a year earlier.

The department said nonfarm wage and salaried jobs in Utah shrank by 2.8 percent in 2009, with 34,700 jobs removed from the state economy during that period. Total Utah employment is about 1.21 million.

Construction has taken the biggest hit in job losses, down 12,200 from December 2008 and more than 36,000 from December 2007. Utah's construction employment has fallen to levels last seen in 2004, the department said.

On the plus side, health care added 6,200 jobs in 2009.

— Brice Wallace
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