This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Provo-Orem area had the fastest employment growth rate — 5.5 percent — among the nation's 387 metro areas between November 2014 and November 2015.
That's according to data released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It said 294 metro areas had boosted employment during that 12-month period, while 82 lost jobs and 11 had no change.
It said Provo-Orem had an increase of 11,400 employees, from 219,400 to 230,800.
Just behind Provo-Orem's 5.5 percent growth rate were San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., up 5.1 percent; and Idaho Falls, up 5 percent.
On the other end of the spectrum, the metro areas with the largest decreases by percentage in employment rates were Pine Bluff, Ark., down 7.2 percent; Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Williamsport, Pa., down 3.5 percent each; and Houma-Thibodaux, La., down 2.7 percent.
The statewide growth rate in Utah for the period was 3.6 percent.
In other Utah areas, the employment growth rate was 3.5 percent in the Salt Lake metro area; 2.6 percent in both the Logan and Ogden-Clearfield metro areas; and 2.2 percent in the St. George metro area.
In actual jobs added — rather than by percentage — the New York City metro area led the nation with 167,000 new jobs in that yearlong period, followed by the Los Angeles metro area, up by 112,200, and Dallas-Ft. Worth, up 101,200.
Such data are reported monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.