By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Employment in the Arizona Construction sector continued its trend of give and take in February, adding 2,900 jobs over the month after reporting a decrease of 2,200 in January, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.
The January number was revised from its originally reported 221,000 in the January report to 220,500 in the latest version.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.6%.
The national unemployment rate increased to 4.4%, up from 4.3% in January. In February 2025, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.2%. The national rate was also 4.2%.
Arizona had a not-seasonally adjusted increase of 31,200 nonfarm employment jobs month-over-month. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), NSA nonfarm employment gained 25,100 jobs on average in February,” the report states.
On a year-over-year basis, not-seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment fell by 5,400 jobs, a total of -0.2%. The seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment rose by 11,100 month-over-month, a total of 0.3%.
The private sector added 21,500 jobs, led by Leisure & Hospitality, which gained 8,400 jobs, and Professional and Business Services, which added 6,900.
Government employment increased by 9,700 jobs, most of which occurred in Local Government’s addition of 6,500, reversing January’s loss of 5,300.
Eleven of the 12 sectors tracked reported gains. The only sector showing a loss was Trade, Transportation & Utilities, which dropped 3,200.
Year-over-year, five of the 12 sectors reported gains, led by Health Care & Social Assistance’s adding 10,300.
The sectors with year-over-year losses were led by Government’s decrease of 8,400 jobs. Construction was down by 2,700 YoY.
Construction Employment
Statewide construction employment totals 223,400 jobs, up from a revised total of 220,500 for January. In February 2025, the sector reported 226,100.
The Arizona Construction sector features three major segments: Buildings, Heavy and Civil Engineering, and Specialty Trades. There are currently 51,200 jobs in Buildings, which is up 500 from January and up 1,600 from February 2025. Heavy and Civil Engineering was up 500 for the month at 27,200 and was up 300 for the year. Specialty Trades added 1,900 over the month for a total of 145,000, and the segment shed 4,600 year-over-year.
Construction jobs in the Phoenix Metro Area (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale) increased by 3,100 over the month for a total of 179,200. The February 2025 number was 181,100. Metro Tucson added 300 in February to hit 20,300, which is a loss of 700 year-over-year.
Yuma, Flagstaff, Prescott-Prescott Valley, Lake Havasu City-Kingman and Sierra Vista-Douglas combine Mining and Construction jobs in reporting their job sector totals. Yuma dropped 100 to 3,900. Flagstaff was unchanged at 3,100. Prescott-Prescott Valley lost 200 jobs to finish at 7,100. Lake Havasu City-Kingman was unchanged at 4,700, and Sierra Vista-Douglas dropped 100 to end at 2,000.