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Saturday, November 7, 2026

Utah, on the record.

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Utah adds 25,200 jobs over the year as unemployment holds at 3.5%

Nonfarm payroll employment rose 1.4% in the 12 months through September, led by education and health services, the state's monthly report shows.

Correction, Oct. 27: what we corrected ↓

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AI-generated illustration: The Utah Ledger · Original graphic · The Utah Ledger

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Utah's nonfarm payroll employment grew 1.4% over the 12 months through September, adding 25,200 jobs, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services' monthly report, ABC4 reported. Private sector employment rose 1.8%, adding more than 26,000 jobs. [1]

Education and health services added the most jobs, 8,900, followed by professional and business services with 5,900. Construction added 5,000 jobs, with the most growth in the Salt Lake, Murray, Provo, Lehi and Ogden metro areas. The information sector lost 1,700 jobs. [1]

The statewide unemployment rate was 3.5%, unchanged from August, with about 63,200 Utahns unemployed. The national unemployment rate was 4.2%. DWS chief economist Ben Crabb said strong participation among prime-age workers is driving the state's long-term economic stability and that the labor market remains on solid footing as employers hire more selectively. [1]

September's county unemployment estimates ranged from 2.8% in Summit County to 8.6% in Garfield County. Beaver and Cache were each at 2.9%. Salt Lake County was at 3.4% and Utah County at 3.5%, according to the Department of Workforce Services. [2]

The county rates are preliminary and seasonally adjusted. They describe September 2026, rather than conditions measured in October. DWS's Oct. 16 statewide release said county figures would be posted on or shortly after Oct. 19; the table was available when checked that day. [2] [3]

Correction, Oct. 27: An earlier version said the national rate was 0.3%, a figure the Department of Workforce Services release does not give. The release puts the September national unemployment rate at 4.2%.

Sources

3 cited, 2 of them primary records (abc4.com, jobs.utah.gov). Paragraphs carry [n] links to their sources.

  1. ABC4 Utah: Utah sees employment boost in September abc4.com
  2. Utah Department of Workforce Services · September 2026 preliminary seasonally adjusted county unemployment rates jobs.utah.gov
  3. Utah Department of Workforce Services · September employment summary, released Oct. 16, 2026 jobs.utah.gov

This story was written by AI from the report by ABC4 Utah, which has the full story. How we write stories.

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