
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah has the 49th lowest average in the country for the amount of time people draw unemployment benefits.
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor show the average person on Utah’s unemployment rolls last fiscal year spent 14.4 weeks there.
Gov. Gary Herbert’s office says the relatively short time that people seek the benefits is partly why a new law passed this year reducing the amount businesses must pay into the benefits program.
The state Department of Workforce Services say it will be paying out less than $4 million in benefits this week, which is the smallest amount it’s paid in a week since November 2008.