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Show Unemployment in Basin considered only minor As the state and national unemployment unem-ployment rates increased this month, Vernal's unemployment rate suffered a minor increase from 3.2 percent in September to 4.1 percent. "One thing you need to keep in mind," said Larris Hunting, Job Service Ser-vice Vernal manager, "is that these type of statistics become less valuable as they apply to smaller areas." "But we have had some minor increases in-creases in unemployment and also unemployment insurance claims," Hunting said. Hunting attributed the increase to the coming of winter and the slowing down of construction in the area. "Nothing else seems to be slowing down," Hunting said. Utah's seasonally adjusted unemployment unem-ployment rate of 6.4 percent in October is the highest recorded since Oct. 1976. Unemployment rates were up in most areas of the state from September to Oct. 1981, said a Utah labor market report. Utah's unemployment rate is still below the national unemployment rate of 7.5 according to the report. Total personal income for Utah in 1981 is forecasted to be $12.5 billion or 12 percent higher than the 1980 figure. This gain, reflective of 1981's economic climate, is the lowest relative increase since 1975's 11.7 percent. Among the heavily populated and industralized areas, large unemployment unem-ployment increases occurred in the Wasatch Front North District (David, Morgan and Weber counties). On the southern end of the Wasatch Front, Utah County's unemployment rate increased to 6.1 percent, up from 5.2 percent the preceding month. A layoff of approximately 600 workers in the steel manufacturing industry was the major cause of this increase. Nonagricultural employment growth was again very minimal in October. Forecasted nonagricultural jobs totaled 557,400 in October, only a 0.2 percent increase or 1,100 more jobs than in October, 1980. Other industries experienced modest, but extremely lower growth rates than in the almost forgotten "boom period" in the late 1970s. "Only the Uintah Basin and the Southern district of Utah experienced notable employment gains of 1.1 and 1.3 percent respectively, from a year ago. These gains are attributable to continuing con-tinuing activities in oil and gas, and coal mining industries in those areas," the report said. |