SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah's unemployment rate remains at historic lows.
The state Department of Workforce Services said Friday unemployment dropped one-tenth of a percent from November to a December rate of 3.1 percent.
Meanwhile, Utah's nonfarm payroll employment for December grew by an estimated 2.7 percent from the previous year, with 38,800 jobs added to the state's economy since December 2016.
Carrie Mayne, the department's chief economist, says the numbers reflect a solid year of steady, sustainable expansion.
The fastest employment growth was in the areas of construction, up 6.9 percent, and leisure and hospitality, with a gain of 6 percent.
Overall, Utah's unemployment rate remains about one-fourth lower than the national rate of 4.1 percent.