Job creation in Utah kicked into high gear in April, with several key labor-starved industries, including construction, oil and gas exploration, apparently using creative methods to find workers.

The number of non-farm payrolls in Utah gained 4.2 percent, or 47,900 new jobs, last month from a year ago, with most industry sectors now either adding jobs or having difficulty finding enough workers, according to a report from the Utah Department of Workforce Services on Tuesday.

"Utah's labor force is getting fully employed. Those wishing to work are working. Our employment growth rate would have been higher, up 4.5 percent, if the available labor force was there, and in-migration feeds that," said Mark Knold, senior economist with the state Department of Workforce Services. "A lot of our future ability to grow would depend on in-migration flow, which is sensitive to how the rest of the U.S. economy is growing."

Among the fastest growing sectors in Utah are natural resources, construction and professional and business services. Employment in the natural resources sector, which includes oil and gas exploration, jumped 12.8 percent, or 1,100 new jobs, over the past year. The construction sector added 8,300 new jobs, or 10.7 percent, over the previous year, while professional and business services added 10,800 new jobs, up 7.6 percent, over the past year.

Knold said growth in the construction sector would have been higher if some companies able to work on large projects had been able to find sufficient workers.

"That sector is booming because the entire western region is doing so well," he said.

Employment growth in natural resources is driven by the oil and gas industry, which has been adding new jobs over the past few years because of high crude oil and natural gas prices.

"The Intermountain West is one of the few areas in the country that hasn't been explored in depth for natural gas. Natural resources' labor force is stretched to the breaking point. Unemployment rates in the Uintah and Duchesne counties are very low because the huge amount of exploration for natural gas, and to a smaller extent, oil, is creating economic growth, paying high wages, which, in turn, feeds into retail sales, car and housing sales," said Michael Hanni, regional labor economist for Workforce Services.

High natural gas prices have also spurred growth in cheaper natural resources such as coal in Utah, he said.

"The coal industry is now looking competitive and seen as an alternative to natural gas by some power companies," he said.

But finding sufficient workers for the rapidly growing gas, oil and coal industries in Utah isn't easy, Hanni said. "The Uintah basin is separated by a two- to three-hour commute from other labor centers in Utah, and it's difficult attracting workers from outside the area because the rest of the economy is so hot as well," he said.

As a result, many oil and gas exploration companies are heard to be getting creative in their search for workers, Knold said.

"We've heard cases of employee poaching, with some companies paying workers $1 per hour more. We've also heard of companies offering pick-up trucks as sign-on bonuses, companies drawing an eight-hour commute circle around Vernal and looking at that as a hiring area, and some companies allowing their workers to work seven days on, seven days off, or work 14 days, and seven days off," he said.

Statewide trade, transportation and utilities added 8,000 new jobs over the past year on strong retail sales, rising wages and employment growth, while the leisure and hospitality industry grew 2.1 percent, or added 2,200 new jobs. The manufacturing sector grew 2.6 percent, or added 3,000 new jobs, while financial services grew 4.1 percent, or added 2,700 new jobs.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B8.