DWS - Utah Department of Workforce Services
10/16/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/16/2026 09:48
October 16, 2026 - Utah's Employment Summary: September 2026
Press Release
October 16, 2026
UTAH'S EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY: September 2026
SALT LAKE CITY (October 16, 2026) - Utah's nonfarm payroll employment for September 2026 increased an estimated 1.4% across the past 12 months, with the state's economy adding a cumulative 25,200 jobs since September 2025. Utah's current job count stands at 1,801,100.
September's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is estimated at 3.5%, unchanged from its level in August. Approximately 63,200 Utahns are unemployed. The September national unemployment rate is estimated at 4.2%, up a tenth of a percentage point from its level in August.
"Utah's labor market remains on solid footing," said Ben Crabb, chief economist at the Department of Workforce Services. "Even as employers take a more selective approach to hiring, strong participation among prime-age workers is driving the state's long-term economic stability."& amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; lt; /p>
Utah's September private sector employment recorded a year-over-year expansion of 1.8%, or a 26,600-job increase. Eight of the 10 major private-sector industry groups posted net year-over-year job gains. The overall gains are led by education and health services (8,900 jobs), professional and business services (5,900 jobs), and construction (5,000 jobs). Information (-1,700 jobs) experienced a year-over-year job loss while natural resources and mining remained unchanged from a year prior.
Additional analysis and tables at https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/ update/index.html
- County unemployment rates for September will post on or shortly after October 19, 2026, at https://jobs.utah.gov/wi/ update/une/season.pdf
- Statistics generated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C., modeled from monthly employer (employment) and household (unemployment) surveys.
- Listen to Chief Economist Ben Crabb's analysis of the September 2026 employment report here: soundcloud.com/utahdws/utah- employment-report-september- 2026.
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DWS - Utah Department of Workforce Services published this content on October 16, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 16, 2026 at 15:49 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]