Employment in the Arizona Construction sector shifted course and lost 1,800 jobs after two consecutive months of reported gains, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.
Construction employment year-over-year is up by 2,100 jobs.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained flat at 4.9% in July, after climbing from 4.8% in May. The national unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% from 4.2% in June. This is a continued trend, as May posted an unemployment rate of 4.3%.
Month-over-month, Arizona’s not seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment shed 16,400 jobs, or 0.5%. YoY, NSA total nonfarm employment gained 24,200 positions, or 0.8%.
“Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019) NSA nonfarm employment lost 19,900 jobs on average in July,” the report states.
Private employment lost 13,500 jobs, with 10 of the 12 sectors reporting losses. The largest declines were seen in Leisure & Hospitality at 8,300 and Government at 2,900. Construction’s 1,800 dip was the third-largest.
The only two sectors to report gains in Arizona were Financial Activities and Information, at 1,300 and 600, respectively.
YoY, only four of the 12 sectors reported losses. Most of these were also seen in Leisure & Hospitality and Government, which combined for a 12,100-job loss.
The strongest performing sector over the year was Health Care and Social Assistance, with its 13,400-position gain. Professional and Business Services closely followed at 12,500. Construction ranked sixth with 2,100 jobs. Arizona Construction growth is performing slightly better than the U.S. average at 0.9%. The national average is 0.7%.
Construction Employment
Statewide construction employment totals 226,700, down from 228,750 in June. In July 2025, the sector reported 224,600. Construction employment is up 2.1% YoY and down 1.8% MoM.
The Arizona Construction sector features three major segments: Construction of Buildings, Heavy and Civil Engineering, and Specialty Trade Contractors. There are currently 52,200 jobs in Construction of Buildings, which is the same MoM and up from 49,500 in July 2025. Heavy and Civil Engineering sat at 26,800, down 200 MoM and 600 YoY. Specialty Trades was at 147,700, down from 149,300 in the previous month. It remained completely flat YoY.
Construction jobs in the Phoenix Metro Area (Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler) decreased by 1,600 over the course of the month from 183,700 to 182,100. The July 2025 number was 179,600. Metro Tucson remained flat at 20,500, which is a 100-position loss YoY.
Yuma, Flagstaff, Prescott-Prescott Valley, Lake Havasu City-Kingman and Sierra Vista-Douglas combine Mining and Construction jobs in reporting their jobs sector totals. Yuma, Flagstaff and Lake Havasu City-Kingman remained flat at 4,000, 3,200 and 4,700, respectively. Prescott and Sierra Vista-Douglas shed 100 jobs and are down to 7,300 and 2,000.