By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX
Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 5 percent in March, from 5.1 percent in February 2019, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.
The national rate remained at 3.8 percent from February. In March 2018, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.8 percent, and the national was at 4 percent.
The state had a net gain of 6,300 non-farm jobs over the month, which is less than the historical 10-year (2009-2018) average gain of 9,200 jobs. Construction had the largest increase with 2,900, followed by Professional & Business Services. Of the 11 sectors tracked, Natural Resources & Mining recorded the smallest net gain of 100 jobs.
Construction in Arizona came in second in job gains from Mar., 2018 to Mar., 2019 with a total of 16,700, while Education and Health Services took the top slot with 18,100.
The Construction sector features three major segments: Buildings, Heavy, and Specialty Trades. There are currently 35,100 jobs in Buildings, which remained the same from Feb., 2019 and increased 3,500 from Mar., 2018. Heavy Construction gained 600 over the month for a total of 19,400, and is up 1,400 from Mar., 2018. Specialty Trades increased 2,300 for the month at 116,700, and the segment added 11,800 over the year.
Construction jobs in the Phoenix Metro Area (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale) increased 2,900 over the month, for a total of 134,900. The Mar., 2018 number was 121,100.
The Metro Tucson construction jobs remained at 17,300 from Feb., 2019 and increased by 800 from Mar., 2018.
Yuma, Flagstaff, Prescott, Lake Havasu City-Kingman and Sierra Vista-Douglas combine Construction and Natural Resources jobs in reporting their job sector totals. Yuma and Flagstaff remained unchanged at 2,500 each for the month, while Prescott remained unchanged at 6,000 for the month. Lake Havasu City-Kingman gained 100 for the month for a total of 3,400, while Sierra Vista-Douglas remained unchanged at 1,700.