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Here are the Utah cities with the lowest unemployment rates

(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) Utah State University Old Main Building, a key landmark in Logan, on July 22, 2016.

  | Jan. 3, 2020, 6:50 p.m.
| Updated: Jan. 6, 2020, 3:31 p.m.

Logan now has the lowest unemployment rate among the nation’s 389 metro areas, and Salt Lake City has the lowest unemployment for metro areas with at least 1 million people.

That’s according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It comes two weeks after release of similar data for states showed that Utah matched its lowest unemployment rate ever in November at 2.4% statewide.

Also in the new data, a third Utah metro area — Ogden-Clearfield — ranked No. 3 among all metro areas nationally for the job growth rate it logged between November 2018 and November 2019: 4.2% (behind only Myrtle Beach, S.C. at 5.1% and Idaho Falls at 4.5%).

The new data said the Logan metro area had an unemployment rate in November of 1.5%, with just 1,126 people actively seeking work. That rate was less than half the national average of 3.3%. Logan’s unemployment rate a year ago was 2.4%.

While Logan was the lowest in the nation, the highest was in El Centro, Calif., with a rate of 20.6%.

For the 51 metro areas with at least 1 million residents, for the second consecutive month Salt Lake City was the lowest nationally with a rate of 1.9%. That was down from 2.7% a year ago, with 12,706 people actively seeking work. The highest rate nationally was in New Orleans, at 4.4%.

The unemployment rate for other areas in Utah in November were: Ogden-Clearfield, 1.8% (down from 2.8% a year earlier); Provo-Orem, 1.7% (down from 2.5% a year ago); and St. George, 2.1% (down from 3.1%).

Mark Knold, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services, said last month, “Rapid declines in such a low unemployment environment point to an economy running at full steam. Employment opportunities are plentiful.”

Separate data released Friday showed Utah’s metro areas all saw increases in the number of jobs created over the past 12 months — led by Ogden-Clearfield finishing No. 3 nationally at 4.2%.

The increases for other metro areas in Utah were: St. George, 3.6%; Provo-Orem, 3.4%; Salt Lake City, 2.2%; and Logan, 2.0%.