But in Wayne County, it represented an annual job growth rate of 44.5 percent.

That's according to the 2004 County Business Patterns report released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The county-by-county report measured growth from 2003 to 2004, the most recent data available from the agency.

Salt Lake County, which accounts for almost half of all employment in Utah, ranked in the top 50 counties nationally for its number of employers (27,611). The number of paid employees in the county increased by 2,851 in 2004, but with nearly 462,000 workers to start with, the increase represented less than 1 percent growth.

In Wayne County, home to Capitol Reef National Park, the number of businesses with paid employees inched up from 81 to 82, and paid employees rose from 425 to 614.

"Wayne County is really small so even one [new job] is great," said Jodi King, economic development director for the county, which has about 2,500 people. King said there are actually 250 licensed businesses in the county, but most are run by entrepreneurs with no employees.

Mountain Mill and Door, a custom wood door manufacturer in Loa, more than tripled its staff last year. The 10-year-old company moved into a renovated 15,000-square-foot cheese factory and boosted its staff from two to seven.

Jay Miller moved to the tiny town from Utah County two years ago to manage the business for owner Clark Chappell. Mountain Mill plans to add two or three more employees this year.

"There's plenty of room [for businesses] to grow here," Miller said. "The people are wonderful. . . . The area is just overwhelmingly beautiful."

Impressive growth rates may be easier to come by in counties with small economies. But Washington County, which has the fifth largest number of employers, outstripped all other Utah counties in adding businesses with paid employees.

The number of employers in the rapidly growing county jumped 13 percent to 3,380 in 2004. Paid employees grew by 8.3 percent to 33,878.

"The business economy is very robust. I see or hear of new businesses opening regularly," said Scott Hirschi, director of the Washington County Economic Development Council.

Hirschi's group focuses on bringing large manufacturers and distributors to the area. In the past 18 months, the county has succeeded in enticing Viracon, Milliken, Wells Dairy (maker of Blue Bunny ice cream) and Orgill to build facilities there. The developments will create a minimum of 600 jobs in Washington County, Hirschi said.

Along with Washington and Salt Lake counties, Utah, Davis and Weber counties comprise the state's five largest employment centers.

rwinters@sltrib.com