An increase in job seekers drove the April 2016 unemployment rate up for Utah and Tooele County while the number of available local jobs grew for the twelfth consecutive month, according to new state employment data.
Tooele County’s unemployment rate for April 2016 was 4.3 percent, up from March 2016’s 4.1 percent and February 2016’s 3.9 percent, according to preliminary employment statistics released by the Department of Workforce Services last week.
Utah’s unemployment rate grew from 3.4 percent in February 2016 to 3.7 percent in April 2016, according to the same data.
The growth in unemployment is not the sign of economic distress, but the result of an improved job market, according to DWS officials.
“Strong wage and employment growth is drawing job seekers into Utah’s labor markets,” reported Carrie Mayne, chief economist for DWS. “The immediate result is an increase in the unemployment rate, but given the rate of business expansion in our state, it is highly likely the unemployed job seekers will become employed members of the workforce.”
Statewide, Utah’s economy grew by 46,500 jobs in April 2016 compared to April 2015, a 3.7-percent growth.
Jobs in Tooele County grew by 3.4 percent in April 2016 compared to April 2015 with an increase of 506 jobs.
There were 15,445 jobs in Tooele County at the end of April 2016. That’s the highest number of jobs in the county for the month of April since the number of jobs in April 2013 reached 15,625.
DWS regional economist Cory Stahle points out that with April 2016’s job growth, the county has experienced 12 consecutive months of job growth.
“It looks like Tooele County is headed in the right direction and its economy is recovering,” Stahle said.
A lot of those new jobs are probably in the transportation and warehousing industry, according to Stahle.
The opening of the Cabela’s distribution center in September 2015 helped the transportation and warehousing industry post a 341 job increase by December 2015, he said.
“What you’re seeing now is April 2015, before Cabela’s, and April 2016, after Cabela’s,” Stahle said.
Fourth quarter 2015 job information by industry, the most recent industry job total available for Tooele County, also show a 12-percent growth in administrative services and waste management jobs, and a 5-percent increase in accommodations and food services.
Angelo Geovjian, owner of American Burgers, is among local employers who are looking for employees.
“Growth in our business has us hiring at all of our locations,” he said. “We are looking for cooks, baristas, managers, front people, everything.”
Despite the reported growth in job seekers, Geovijian said he has had trouble filling all of his positions.
Fourth quarter 2015 data also showed a local decrease of 51 percent, or a 117 job loss, in art, entertainment, and recreation jobs at the end of December 2015. That loss might have been due to the transition of employees from Miller Motorsports Park to the Utah Motorsports Campus, according to Stahle.
Out of the 29 counties in Utah, 13 had a higher April unemployment rate than Tooele County. The highest was 11.5 percent in Uintah County. The lowest was Morgan County’s 3.2 percent. Utah’s April unemployment rate was 3.7 percent. The national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent in April.