11/19/09

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics show Utah's unemployment rate rose from 6.2 percent to
6.5 percent from September to October.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services also says the state
has lost 40,900 jobs over the past year, leaving total employment
at just over 1.2 million.

The department noted, though, that the 3.3 percent contraction
in Utah's job count in October was an improvement over the 4
percent decline in September.

The department says about 88,900 Utahns were considered
unemployed last month, compared to 48,300 last October, when the
state's unemployment rate was 3.5 percent.

The U.S. unemployment rate in October climbed four-tenths, to
10.2 percent.


(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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