Not hiring: young adults struggle to find work in Rural Utah.

• Author: Francom, Sarah Ryther
• Position: Focus

After serving in the U.S. Army for several years, Gino* moved his young family to Monticello--the small town he grew up in. "I moved home to raise my family. I want my children to have the same opportunities that I had--the small-town life," Gino says. "People watch out for each other here. They teach kids proper values that can get lost. And I want them to have the outdoors life."

With a background in IT, Gino wasn't worried about finding stable employment, but since moving back to Monticello six months ago, he hasn't been able to find work. "I'm looking for anything--mostly IT jobs but even manual labor jobs-- anything to keep us going until I can find something," he says.

Like Gino, many young adults wish to stay in the small hometown they grew up in. But, also like Gino, many young adults struggle to find long-term, life-sustaining employment in rural towns.

Young adults have long experienced higher unemployment rates than the average population. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the national young adult unemployment rate was 14.3 percent in July 2014--much higher than the national average of 5.8 percent. Throw in the fact that rural areas also traditionally experience higher unemployment rates than urban and suburban areas, coupled with the reality that many rural areas are still reeling from the Great Recession, and the prospects of a young adult finding quality employment in a rural town becomes slim.

Job Loss Cycle

Utah's rural areas were hit hard during the Great Recession-- much harder than the rest of the state. Many rural towns are still staggering from the impact. Finding life-sustaining employment has become difficult in many areas, especially for young adults who lack experience and connections.

Because work is difficult to find, many rural regions are experiencing an increase in out-migration among their young adult population. Several counties experienced notable population decline in recent years due to out-migration, including Carbon, Emery, Millard, Sanpete, Sevier, Piute, Wayne and Garfield counties, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS).

While it may seem as though a decreasing population would lessen competition for employment opportunities, Lecia Langston, regional economist at DWS, says out-migration leads to a lack of workforce critical mass, which is often the culprit behind stymied economic growth in rural areas. "A company can't move here if they can't find workers," she...