Arizona unemployment continues to be lower than national average despite uptick

(The Center Square) – Arizona’s jobs report continues to paint a brighter picture compared with the national trends.

The July jobs report indicated that there was a slight uptick in the unemployment rate from 3.3% to 3.4%, as the state is touting 74,300 jobs added since July 2023. The not-seasonally adjusted change for non-farm employment was 9,400 jobs lower, which is a 0.3% downtick, according to the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. The national unemployment rate in July was 4.3%.

The top gaining sectors were “professional and business services” with 3,000 jobs added. construction with 2,900 jobs added, and financial activities with 2,400 jobs added. On the flip side, “leisure and hospitality” lost 5,800 jobs, “trade, transportation & utilities” lost 4,5000 jobs, and government lost 3,900 jobs.

“Arizona is now running nearly a full point lower than the US rate, underscoring strength of the state’s economy,” Ian O’Grady, a policy advisor for Gov. Katie Hobbs, tweeted.

The Common Sense Institute Arizona said that the job market nationwide and in the Grand Canyon State is “cooling.”

“Slowing employment growth, a rising unemployment rate, and rising jobless claims all signal a continue cooling of the Arizona and national job markets,” the group stated in a news release. “Combined with the ongoing slowdown in price inflation, the overall pace of economic growth remains tepid.”

The think tank also added that even though Arizona’s job growth is doing better compared with the national data, it also has a higher rate of “jobless claims." Still, the group said that the state is ranked 19th in “monthly job growth” across all 50 states.