Arizona adds 21,200 jobs, extends growth streak

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(The Center Square) - Arizona gained 21,200 jobs year over year in May, according to a new report.

Common Sense Institute Arizona released a report showing the state experienced year-over-year job growth for the second consecutive month, following eight straight months of year-over-year job decline.

The report noted Arizona’s 0.65% year-over-year job growth ranked 10th in America, more than doubling the national average of 0.32%.

Doug Walls, the labor market information director for the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, told The Center Square that eight of the 12 major industries in Arizona saw job growth.

Walls said job gains in Arizona continue to be dominated by the healthcare industry, which saw the sixth-best year-over-year job growth in America.

On top of this, he pointed out that Arizona’s information and mining sectors grew at the second-largest and fourth-fastest rates in America, year over year, respectively.

According to the report, Arizona gained 500 manufacturing jobs year over year, ranking 11th in America.

Zach Milne, a senior economist for CSI, told The Center Square that manufacturing is an important sector in Arizona, noting it has many high-paying jobs such as in aerospace, chip and high-tech manufacturing.

The report also showed Arizona’s construction industry experienced year-over-year job growth of 0.18%.

Milne said the construction growth is a good sign because it shows that things are being built that could contribute to economic output.

May was the first month in more than a year that the state’s manufacturing and construction industry saw year-over-year job creation, Walls said.

Arizona’s year-over-year job growth was “driven entirely by the private sector,” Walls said.

From April to May, Arizona added 2,000 jobs, with its largest industry, trade, transportation and utilities, adding 600 jobs. The state’s mining industry added 200 jobs in the same period.

According to the report, Arizona’s mining industry employs 47% more people than it did in December 2020.

Even with month-over-month and year-over-year job growth, Arizona’s unemployment rate increased slightly from 4.7% to 4.8%, ranking 40th in the country.

Arizona’s unemployment rate is above the national average of 4.3%. Walls said the state’s current jobless rate is still lower than the average jobless rate between 2017 and 2019 of 4.9%.

The report noted Arizona’s labor force participation rate fell to 60.7%, the state’s lowest level since 2020.

Milne said the rise in unemployment and the decline in labor force participation show Arizona has a “slowed labor market.”

The economic data showing Arizona with employment gains, rising unemployment rate and falling labor force participation rate is “a bit odd,” Milne noted.

To get a better idea of what is happening in Arizona’s job numbers, Milne said long-term economic data will need to be examined.