Thread: Jobless rate in Arizona rises 0.2%, now is at 9.3%

Jobless rate in Arizona rises 0.2%, now is at 9.3%

Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services
Posted: Friday, July 22, 2011 12:00 am

PHOENIX - The state's jobless rate jumped two-tenths of a point last month, to 9.3 percent, as the recovering economy sputtered a bit.

It is common for the state to lose jobs in June, partly because of schools letting out and partly because summers are slower for visitors, said Aruna Murthy, director of economic analysis for the Arizona Department of Administration.

But the month-over-month loss of more than 57,000 jobs is about 50 percent higher than normally occurs at this time of year, she said. Murthy also cautioned that there may be further job losses this month, saying that has been the pattern in the past.

Despite the decline, Murthy said it's important to focus on the bigger picture - the fact that 7,300 more people were working last month than a year earlier.

"This is our hope here," she said. "We have to look at the over-the-year numbers to actually tell us that things are getting better - not at the pace we would like and not at the growth we would like. But if you compare them to two years ago, they look slightly better now."

One of the brighter spots, for a change, was the state's construction industry, which added 3,200 workers from May to June. These are not people building new homes, though, Murthy said. Instead, part of the increase appears to be coming in the specialty trades, with many now employed in the business of doing repairs.

"We have reached a point where things need to be fixed," she said. "I think people can't go beyond a certain point."

That sector of the economy still has a long way to go, though, before employment reaches prerecession levels: The 112,500 people working in construction total just 45 percent of the peak in June 2006.

Sector employment in thousands

Sector June 2011 At its peak*

Total nonfarm 2,355.1 2,713.6

Manufacturing 151.2 187.4

Natural resources & mining 11.0 14.3

Construction 112.5 247.5

Trade, transportation, utilities 471.7 549.2

Information 36.4 55.6

Financial activities 162.8 187.2

Professional & business services 335.5 408.7

Education & health services 353.5 323.2**

Leisure & hospitality 259.5 279.1

Other services 87.6 102.0

Government (including public education) 373.4 449.0

* Different sectors have different peak dates ** Prior peak in October 2008

SOURCE: Arizona Department of Administration

http://azstarnet.com/business/local/art ... 0b5d9.html

It does seem to go up when so many work off the books for cash.

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