By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
The Arizona Construction sector dropped 1,700 jobs in September, putting it in first place for losing sectors for the month.
Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.5%, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.
The national unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%, down from 4.2% in September. Last September, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.2%. The national rate was 3.8%.
Arizona had a not-seasonally adjusted gain of 29,300 in nonfarm employment jobs month-over-month. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), NSA nonfarm employment gained 28,800 jobs on average in September,” the report states.
The private sector gained 8,900 jobs over the month, with Private Educational Services adding 4,000 jobs and Health Care and Social Assistance adding 3,300 jobs. Government gained 20,400, mostly in the State Government subsector, which accounted for 11,300.
Of the 12 sectors tracked, seven reported gains over the month. The top two sectors showing increases were Governmentand Private Educational Services. Construction led the three declining sectors with a decrease of 1,700 jobs. Natural Resources and Mining and Manufacturing were unchanged.
Year-over-year, nine of the 12 sectors reported gains, including Construction’s addition of 4,200 jobs and Natural Resources & Mining’s increase of 1,200. The greatest increases were reported in Health Care and Social Assistance at 25,100 jobs. The three sectors showing losses were Manufacturing, down 2,700; Leisure and Hospitality, down 1.500 jobs, and Information, down 700.
Construction Employment
Statewide construction employment totals 218,200 jobs. In September 2023, the sector reported 214,000.
The Arizona Construction sector features three major segments: Buildings, Heavy, and Specialty Trades. There are currently 48,900 jobs in Buildings, which is down 100 from August and up 3,700 from September 2023. Heavy Construction was unchanged over the month at 25,400 but added 500 over the year. Specialty Trades dropped by 1,600 over the month for a total of 143,900, but the segment is unchanged year-over-year.
Construction jobs in the Phoenix Metro Area (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale) added 600 over the month for a total of 173,200. The September 2023 number was 171,000. Metro Tucson was down by 100 construction jobs over the month at 20,900, which is an increase of 300 year-over-year.
Yuma, Flagstaff, Prescott, Lake Havasu City-Kingman and Sierra Vista-Douglas combine Mining and Construction jobs in reporting their job sector totals. With the exception of Sierra Vista-Douglas, all the metro areas were unchanged for the month. Yuma reported 3,800. Flagstaff had 3,100. There were 7,200 in Prescott, and Lake Havasu City-Kingman had 4,700 construction jobs. Mining and Construction employment in Sierra Vista-Douglas dropped 100 to 2,100.