By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX
Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 6.7 percent in January 2021, from December 2020, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.
The national rate decreased to 6.3 percent from November. In January 2020, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.8 percent, and the national was at 3.5 percent.
The state had a net loss of 41,700 non-farm jobs over the month. “Historically (2011-2020), Nonfarm employment has averaged a loss of 50,300 jobs in January,” the report states. Trade, Transportation & Utilities had the largest net loss of 21,800 jobs, followed by Professional & Business Services with a loss of 5,100. Construction reported a net loss of 1,100 jobs for the month.
Trade, Transportation & Utilities took the top spot in job gains from January 2020 to January 2021 with a total of 8,500, while Leisure & Hospitality took the top spot in job losses over the year with 59,100. Construction reported a 2,000-job loss over the year.
The Construction sector features three major segments: Buildings, Heavy, and Specialty Trades. There are currently 33,800 jobs in Buildings, which remained the same from December 2020 and decreased by 1,600 from January 2020. Heavy Construction lost 500 over the month for a total of 20,200 and gained 400 over the year. Specialty Trades lost 6,000 for the month at 117,000, and the segment lost 800 over the year.
Construction jobs in the Phoenix Metro Area (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale) lost 1,700 over the month for a total of 131,800. The January 2020 number was 135,600.
The Metro Tucson construction jobs decreased to 18,100 from December 2020 and remained the same from January 2020.
Yuma, Flagstaff, Prescott, Lake Havasu City-Kingman and Sierra Vista-Douglas combine Construction and Natural Resources jobs in reporting their job sector totals. Yuma, Flagstaff and Lake Havasu City-Kingman each lost 100 over the month for a total of 3,500, 2,600 and 3,900 respectively. Prescott and Sierra Vista-Douglas remained the same over the month for a total of 6,400 and 3,400 respectively.