Ariz. Construction Gained 9,200 Jobs in February

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX 
Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.5 percent in February 2020, from January 2020, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.  
The national rate decreased to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent in January. In February 2019, the state had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.9 percent, and the national was at 3.8 percent. 
The state had a net gain of 24,300 non-farm jobs over the month, which is less than the historical 10-year (2010-2019) average gain of 25,100 jobs. Leisure & Hospitality had the largest net gain of jobs with 8,000, followed by Government with 7,300. Of the 11 sectors tracked, Natural Resources & Mining had the smallest net gain with 100 jobs. 
Education and Health Services in Arizona took the top spot in job gains from February 2019 to February 2020 with a total of 22,100, while Trade, Transportation & Utilities came in second with 10,600 and Leisure & Hospitality came in third with 9,500. Construction came in fourth with 9,200. 
The Construction sector features three major segments: Buildings, Heavy, and Specialty Trades. There are currently 37,100 jobs in Buildings, which increased by 800 from January 2020 and increased 3,600 from February 2019. Heavy Construction gained 400 over the month for a total of 21,100 and is up 1,600 from February 2019. Specialty Trades increased 2,100 for the month at 116,600, and the segment added 4,000 over the year. 
Construction jobs in the Phoenix Metro Area (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale) increased 2,800 over the month for a total of 138,000. The February 2019 number was 130,500.  
The Metro Tucson construction jobs gained 100 from January for a total of 18,000 and increased by 600 from February 2019. 
Yuma, Flagstaff, Prescott, Lake Havasu City-Kingman and Sierra Vista-Douglas combine Construction and Natural Resources jobs in reporting their job sector totals. Yuma, Prescott and Lake Havasu City-Kingman gained 100 for a total of 3,100, 6,200 and 3,400 respectively for the month. Flagstaff and Sierra Vista-Douglas remained at 2,300 and 1,900 respectively.