News Release

May 17, 2024 (Salt Lake City) —The Utah Economic Council this week honored retiring Utah Department of Workforce Services chief economist Mark Knold with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his 34 years of service to the state.

“For over 34 years, Mark served Utah’s Department of Workforce Services by clearly and concisely conveying data about labor market trends affecting Utah,” said Phil Dean, chief economist at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and co-chair of the Utah Economic Council. “Mark’s expertise helped countless legislators and six governors make decisions benefiting all Utahns.”

Mark joined the State of Utah in 1990 as an economist when DWS was known as Utah Job Service. He began his time on the job writing quarterly newsletters for Utah’s 29 counties. In 1997, he became part of the department now known as the Department of Workforce Services when the state consolidated five agencies into one. He supervised the Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants to States (WIGS) and oversaw training labor market and workforce development staff, including work on long-term and short-term occupation and employment projections. Mark retired from his post as the department’s chief economist, a position he’s held since 2019.

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