By Roland Murphy for Arizona Builder’s Exchange
Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed steady from May to June at 4.7 percent, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.
The national rate rose from 3.8 percent to 4.0. Twelve months ago, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.8 percent, and the national was at 4.3.
The state had a net loss of 44,900 non-farm jobs over the month. Government shed the most, losing 40,100. Seven of the 11 sectors tracked showed gains.
Construction in Arizona was up 4,500.
The Construction sector features three major segments: Buildings, Heavy, and Specialty Trades. There are currently 35,100 jobs in Buildings, up 1,400 from May and up 6,200 from June of 2017. Heavy Construction has gained 300 for the month with a total of 18,000, up 900from June, 2017. Specialty Trades was up 2,800 for the month at 108,200, and the segment increased 7,500 over the year.
Construction jobs in the Phoenix Metro Area (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale) increased 3,800 over the month, for a total of 127,600. The June 2017 number was 114,500.
In Metro Tucson construction job numbers decreased 400 to 17,100, an increase of 1,100 from June, 2017.
Yuma, Flagstaff, Prescott, Lake Havasu City-Kingman and Sierra Vista-Douglas combine Construction and Natural Resources jobs in reporting their job sector totals. Yuma was unchanged at 2,500. Flagstaff gained 100, up to 2,600. Prescott also increased 100 to 5,800, as did Lake Havasu City-Kingman with an increase to 3,200. Sierra Vista-Douglas stayed the same with 1,500.