By Roland Murphy for AZBEX – BEXCLUSIVE
Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.2% in October, up from 4.0% for the month of September, according to the latest report published by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.
The national unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, up from 3.8% in September. Last October, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.1%, while the national rate was 3.7%.
The Construction sector reported no overall gains or losses around the state last month.
Arizona had a gain of 17,200 jobs in nonfarm employment in October. “Prior to the pandemic (2010-2019), NSA nonfarm employment gained 27,800 jobs on average in October,” the report states.
The private sector gained 14,700 jobs over the month, led by Trade, Transportation & Utilities adding 9,500. Government gained 2,500, mostly in the subcategory of State Government, which added 1,700.
Construction was the only sector out of the 11 tracked that showed no change for the month. Seven of the sectors tracked gained jobs in October; three experienced losses. Financial Activities lost 2,300. Year-over-year, eight of the 11 sectors reported gains, including Construction’s addition of 3,900 jobs.
Construction Employment
Statewide construction employment totals 201,500 jobs. In October 2022, the sector reported 197,600.
The Arizona Construction sector features three major segments: Buildings, Heavy, and Specialty Trades. There are currently 44,700 jobs in Buildings, which is down 300 from September and up 1,900 from October 2022. Heavy Construction added 100 for the month, for a total of 23,300, and added 800 over the year. Specialty Trades added 200 over the month for a total of 133,500, and the segment gained 1,200 year-over-year.
Construction jobs in the Phoenix Metro Area (Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale) added 900 over the month for a total of 161,400. The October 2022 number was 155,200. Metro Tucson added 200 construction jobs over the month at 20,200, which is an increase of 400 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. All were unchanged over the month. Yuma reported 4,200. Flagstaff had 3,000. Prescott’s count was 7,200. Lake Havasu City-Kingman reported 4,300, and Sierra Vista-Douglas had 2,000.