Job growth returns to some counties in southwestern Utah

I'm always preaching that the best economic indicator on the local level is the year-to-year change in nonfarm jobs. Now that preliminary data is available for the second quarter of 2010, it would seem appropriate to exam how where local economies are on the road to recovery.

Yes, Virginia, there is job growth out there. In southwestern Utah, two counties--Garfield and Kane--showed year-to-year employment growth as of June 2010. Both these counties maintain economies heavily dependent on tourism. And, indeed, both counties are showing substantial employment growth in leisure/hospitality industry employment. Overall, employment is up 1 percent in Kane County and a whopping 6.5 percent in Garfield County.

The two most populous counties--Washington and Iron--do continue to show year-over job losses. However, in both cases, the employment losses keep getting smaller and smaller. As of June 2010, Iron County's employment was down less than 3 percent compared to a year earlier. Washington County's jobs decreased 3 percent in the same time period and survey data for later in the summer shows employment declines have moderated to roughly 2 percent. In particular, Washington County is beginning to see employment gains in the professional/business services industry. Since this industry includes temporary agency, its expansion is typically a precursor to employment expansion in other areas. If no employment setbacks occur, Washington County is poised to experience some job growth by year-end.

Only in Beaver County has employment taken a nose dive. But, Beaver County is a special case. Construction on a wind farms infused large numbers of construction jobs into the county's labor market and once the construction ended, so did the jobs. In addition, a temporary mining closure contributed to Beaver County's 14.6 percent drop in jobs.

For more detailed information on employment growth in the second quarter go to: jobs.utah.gov/countyinfo. Select your county, then the "Nonfarm Jobs" link on the right-hand side of the page.