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Fact check: Are Gov. Herbert's claims about Utah's employment picture accurate?
June 23, 2016
By Eugene Slaven
Facing a primary challenge from Overstock.com chairman of the board and the company’s former CEO, Jonathan Johnson, Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) is touting his record on jobs as a reason for why he deserves re-election. h Meanwhile, Johnson is accusing Herbert of raising taxes and emphasizing his private sector experience. At the April 16, 2016, Utah Republican convention, Johnson won the nomination by 55-45 percent over the incumbent. On June 28, 2016, a much broader segment of the Republican electorate will vote in the state’s Republican primary to determine which candidate will face off against the winner of the Democratic primary, businessman Mike Weinholtz.[1][2]
During a May 25 appearance at a conference of the Utah Taxpayers Association, a nonprofit organization that advocates for what it considers “efficient, economical government and fair and equitable taxation,” Herbert praised Utah’s fiscal and tax policies, characterized the state as business friendly, and claimed that Utah has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.[3] He also said that during his tenure as governor, the state has added 217,000 private sector jobs.[4][5]
Does Utah have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation? Have 217,000 private sector jobs been added since Herbert became governor?
We determined that Herbert’s unemployment rate claim is true. His claim about the number of private sector jobs created was off by 2.3 percent and, thus, roughly true. We also found that Utah’s unemployment picture under Herbert continued a trend.
Job creation, unemployment and labor participation rates
Herbert became governor of Utah on August 11, 2009[,] when then-Governor Jon Huntsman stepped down to take a position as U.S. ambassador to China. He subsequently won a special election in 2010 to fill the remaining two years of Huntsman's term. He was then re-elected on November 6, 2012, along with running mate Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell.[6][7]
Herbert’s job creation claim is roughly correct. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in August 2009 there were 964,200 private sector jobs in Utah. As of April 2016, there were 1,176,300 private sector jobs. Therefore, during Herbert’s tenure, there has been a net increase of 212,100 private sector jobs.[8]
Utah’s average unemployment rate for 2016 to date is 3.5 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate currently stands at 4.7 percent. In April 2016, Utah was tied with Idaho for the ninth lowest unemployment rate in the nation. (The May unemployment rates released after Herbert made his claim show that Utah’s unemployment rate rose to 3.8 percent, and is now tied with three other states—Arkansas, Minnesota, and Virginia—for the eleventh lowest rate in the nation.) South Dakota’s unemployment rate is currently the lowest at 2.5 percent, while Alaska’s is the highest at 6.7 percent.[9][10][11]
To further assess Utah’s jobs situation, Ballotpedia also looked at Utah’s labor force participation rate, which some economists view as a vital metric for accurately evaluating the status of employment.[12] Additionally, we looked at Utah’s unemployment and labor force participation rates from 2003-2009 to compare Herbert’s record to his predecessors’.
During Herbert’s tenure as governor, Utah’s unemployment rate has consistently been lower than the national average by a range of 1.3 to 2.7 percentage points. The state’s labor force participation rate has consistently been higher by a range of 3.3-5.4 percentage points.
While Utah’s 68.2 percent labor force participation rate in April 2016 is slightly lower than the August 2009 labor force participation rate of 68.8 percent, a lower proportion of people dropped out of the workforce in the state compared to the nation as a whole in that period, as the U.S. labor force participation rate dropped from 65.4 percent to 62.8 percent.
Herbert’s assessment of Utah’s employment picture relative to the national average is accurate. The state’s employment situation was also stronger than the national average in the 6 years preceding Herbert’s governorship.
Conclusion
In his primary campaign against Overstock.com Chairman of the Board Jonathan Johnson, Gov. Herbert is highlighting Utah’s relatively low unemployment rate and the number of jobs created during his tenure.
In addition to a net increase of 212,000 private sector jobs since August 2009, Utah’s unemployment rate in April 2016 was tied for the ninth lowest in the nation. The state’s 68.2 percent labor force participation rate is 5.4 percentage points higher than the national average.
However, Utah’s 68.2 percent labor participation rate as of April 2016 was slightly lower than its August 2009 rate of 68.8 percent, although the decline was less than the national decline from 65.4 to 62.8 percent during the same period.
An analysis of Utah’s unemployment and labor participation rates in the six years prior to Herbert becoming governor shows that the Utah unemployment rate was consistently lower than the national average.
Launched in October 2015 and active through October 2018, Fact Check by Ballotpedia examined claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. We evaluated claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. As of 2025, Ballotpedia staff periodically review these articles to revaluate and reaffirm our conclusions. Please email us with questions, comments, or concerns about these articles. To learn more about fact-checking, click here.
Sources and Notes
- ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Jonathan Johnson forces primary for Utah governor race, but can he defeat Gov. Gary Herbert?" April 25, 2016
- ↑ Fox 13 Salt Lake City, "Governor Herbert gets an election challenger," August 15, 2015
- ↑ Utah Taxpayers Association, "Purpose and Objectives," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ Utah Taxpayers Association, "Gary Herbert's speech," May 25, 2016
- ↑ UtahPolicy.com, "Herbert, Johnson, Weinholtz Debate Business Bonafides," May 16, 2016
- ↑ Deseret News, "New governor's first day on the job," August 12, 2009
- ↑ Salt Lake Tribune, "Huntsman out as guv, takes new post as ambassador," August 11, 2009
- ↑ Bureau of Labor Statistics, "State and Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings, Utah," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Unemployment Rates for States," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ Utah Department of Workforce Services, "Utah's Employment Summary: May 2016," June 17, 2016
- ↑ Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment Situation Summary," June 3, 2016
- ↑ Bureau of Labor Statistics, "FAQ: How are the labor force components (i.e., civilian labor force, employed, unemployed, and unemployment rate) defined?" accessed June 15, 2016
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