The Department of Workforce Services reported Tuesday that 57,800 Utahns, or 4.7 percent of the state's labor pool, were without jobs last month. That compared to 4.9 percent in May, and 5.3 percent for June 2004.

Nationally, unemployment shrank to 5 percent - a level not seen since September 2001, when terror attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., triggered an economic downturn.

Utah job growth during June continued at a 3.3 percent - the same as the previous month, and far out-performing the 1.7 percent pace of the country as a whole.

All of that is great news for Utah's economy, which continues to grow despite the dampening effect of higher energy prices this summer, said Mark Knold, Workforce Services' senior economist.

Employment growth had hit 3.9 percent in March, but cooled slightly as oil prices topped $60 per barrel and pushed gasoline costs toward record highs.

"Will the rate of growth pick back up again? Probably not until energy prices stabilize and the stock market accepts oil around $50 a barrel," Knold said. "In other words, probably not until next year. Look for the economy to hold what we currently have for the remainder of this year."

Kelly Matthews, executive vice president and economist at Wells Fargo Bank, also was impressed with the strength of Utah's ongoing recovery. "Historically speaking, this level [of joblessness] is indicative of something approaching [effective] full employment," he said.

"Most everyone who seriously wants a job has been able to find one," Matthews added. "Perhaps not everyone has the kind of job they would like, though . . . there is still evidence of underemployment, such as people who lost jobs in the high tech bubble burst."

During 2000-2002, Utah's tech work force shrank from more than 68,000 to 55,000. Recent Workforce Services figures show tech employment hovering around 58,000, still well short of the high-paying sector's better times.

All industrial sectors in Utah contributed to June's buoyant job figures, though two sectors accounted for 40 percent of new hires - professional and business services, and construction.

Professional and business services have added 7,600 jobs over the past year - jobs which, on average, pay 14 percent higher salaries than Utah's rank-and-file workers make. Construction added 6,900 new jobs over the past 12 months for a growth rate of 9.1 percent.

"A vibrant construction industry is a reflection of a healthy economy. Home building, commercial building, warehouse building, and heavy construction projects are expanding and contributing to the strong employment gains," Knold said.

With such communities as St. George, Lehi, West and South Jordan, Draper and Herriman particularly active home building sites, construction employment in the state is at levels never seen before.

"The housing sector is red hot, tied with solid economic growth [and] attractive interest rates," said Jeff Thredgold, an economic consultant to Zions Bank. "I see [home] prices appreciating more in the next two years than they have in the last six or seven."

He predicted Utah's economic recovery will continue well into 2006, though job growth could slow to a still-impressive 2.5 to 2.75 percent level.

The bottom line? "Our economy is solid and diversified. We have sustainable growth with good housing and employment markets," Thredgold said.

bmims@sltrib.com