Interestingly, much of the job growth the state has experienced has occurred outside Salt Lake County, according to Mark Knold, senior economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

"The recession of the early 2000s was largely tech-driven and Salt Lake County [as a technology center] was among the areas that pulled the hardest to bring the rest of the state down," Knold said. "Now with the economy improving, it is almost as if Salt Lake County is letting other areas of the state take the lead in job creation."

Job growth in Salt Lake County increased 2.8 percent over the past 12 months.

In contrast, the St. George area saw a 10 percent increase in job growth during the same period. Summit and Wasatch counties experienced 8 percent growth. Davis County saw the number of its jobs increase a healthy 4 percent.

"Job growth in Washington County is so strong it is almost unhealthy," Knold said. "You can get to the point where there is just not enough labor to meet the demand."

Despite the rosy numbers - February's unemployment rate of 4.8 percent was down from 5.4 percent compared with February 2004 -there is still plenty of room for improvement.

"The job market doesn't improve overnight for everyone. Utah's market is looking much better, but it will still take more time for the overall benefits to trickle down to a larger and larger segment of the population," Knold said.

Statewide, the year-over-year change in the number of nonfarm wage and salaried jobs registered a 3.7 percent increase.

The better-performing sectors of Utah's economy during the past 12 months included:

* Construction. The industry added 6,600 new jobs.

"If you look at the amount of announced and anticipated construction projects going forward, this healthy construction environment should continue right on into 2006," Knold said.

* Trade, transportation and utilities. That sector, which Knold pointed out acts in direct proportion to population increases, added 7,600 new positions.

* Professional and business services. Those areas, which include knowledge-based professional jobs as well as temporary help and employment services positions, saw an increase of approximately 5,500 workers.

Tani Pack Downing, executive director of the Utah Department of Workforce Services, in a statement noted that Utah is now second in the nation in employment growth, trailing only Nevada.

steve@sltrib.com