But before you admire those economic roses, take note of the thorns, a new Utah Foundation study warns.
The nonprofit economic study group's October Research Report acknowledges the state's report of 4.8 percent unemployment for September continues a long trend of rates lower than the rest of the nation. However, author Richard Pak says it does not account for workers, mostly the discouraged young, who have dropped out of the labor market, and an increasing number of adults who are now self-employed.
Quoting U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the study found unemployment for the 16-19 age group nearly doubled (8.8 to 16.9 percent) between 2000 and 2003; meantime, that segment's participation in the labor pool fell 5.5 percent.
Adults unable to find new jobs in the wake of technology, industrial and other work-force cutbacks dropped out of the jobless demographic to start their own businesses - many of them Internet-related.
BLS statistics show the West leading the nation in 2003 for percentage of workers being self-employed, at 8.9 percent. In Utah, between 2000 and the end of 2002, nearly 9,500 became self-employed, a 38.1 percent increase.
For most Utahns, though, new employment often meant taking lower-paying jobs or working multiple jobs to make ends meet.
The foundation study noted that Utah ranks third among states in which residents have more than one job.
Jeff Thredgold, president of Thredgold Economic Associates and a consultant to Zions Bank, does not dispute the foundation's findings, but says Utah's economy has taken a decided turn for the better in 2004.
"There's no doubt the numbers are getting better, and the quality of the jobs being created now, both in Utah and the U.S. as a whole, is improving."
In Utah, the creation of 33,000 new jobs since last September has pushed the state's year-over job growth to 3 percent.
"That's the strongest in about six years," Thredgold said.
Meanwhile, the commercial lure of the Internet is having a "self-employed" impact that is difficult to measure within the traditional unemployment formulas, he added.
Mark Knold, senior economist for Utah's Department of Workforce Services, allows that the self-employed category is "hard to quantify" within the established methods now in place to rate joblessness.
"The Internet has offered up a lot of new variables," he said. And "our data is such that only businesses hiring workers need to register with the state under the umbrella of the unemployment system."
bmims@sltrib.com
Labor report highlights
l In 2003, Utahns who did not complete high school experienced a 9.2 percent unemployment rate compared with 4.2 percent for high school graduates. Holders of bachelor's or higher degrees boasted a 2.1 percent jobless rate.
l Between 2000 and 2003, the working-age population of Utah grew 8.7 percent, while the active labor pool grew just 3.9 percent, possibly indicating some workers waited out the recession.
l Self-employment grew dramatically during the downturn. In Utah, those with one-person small businesses - not included in unemployment surveys - increased 38.1 percent from 2000 to 2002.
l Young workers were hit hardest by the economic malaise, with unemployment for the 16-19 age group rising 8.1 percent to 16.9 percent from 2000 to 2003.
