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Utah's pro-business credentials remain impeccable, according to a new survey, but there are signs some employers are having trouble finding qualified workers.

Nearly 72 percent of 151 Utah employers recently reported difficulty in locating adequately skilled candidates to fill job openings, the new poll by the nonprofit Utah Foundation found.

About a third of those employers said worker shortages were the single greatest obstacle to their companies' growth, while a comparable share called it "the single worst quality of Utah's labor pool."

One researcher suggested the results may reflect Utah's relatively low unemployment rate and the fact that fewer workers are looking for jobs, rather than major systemic problems.

The Utah Foundation study — titled "Is This the Place?" — was intended to collect hard data on employer attitudes in light of favorable national publicity on various aspects of the state's growing economy.

"We wanted to get the pulse of the business community," said Christopher Collard, research analysts with Utah Foundation.

The poll, released Wednesday, reflects only sentiments of company leaders who participated and is not statistically representative of Utah employers as a whole.

The 151 companies surveyed employ about 36,000 Utah workers based along the Wasatch Front.

The results also come, Collard said, amid widespread efforts to more closely integrate worker-education and -training programs offered in Utah with the needs of employers.

"People are well aware of this issue," he said, "and they're putting a lot of focus on it."

The study found that difficulties in finding workers tended to be limited to employers trying to fill positions requiring graduate degrees. Companies most often reported the hardest jobs to fill were in information technology and skilled labor positions.

The Utah Foundation report also cited a separate analysis by the state Department of Workforce Services that found that nearly 70 percent of companies trying to hire for hard-to-fill positions were offering below-median wages.

Concerns in the Utah Foundation report over the state's labor force were offset by a host of more generally favorable attitudes from employers. Most harbor positive views toward the productivity and education levels of Utah workers. Many said they felt support for business from elected officials and confidence in the state's general direction.

A quarter of employers polled said that a strong work ethic was the best quality of Utah's labor force.

An additional 19 percent praised the state's workers "as being honest, motivated or being good people in general."

Views on productivity did not differ dramatically between employers whose experience was limited to Utah workers and those with company operations in multiple states.

tsemerad@sltrib.com Twitter: @TonySemerad