County’s unemployment rate dropped in September

PHOENIX – Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate barely budged last month as the number of jobs available pretty much matched the number of people entering the workforce.

The 4.9 percent figure announced Thursday is down a tenth of a point from August but up that same amount from a year ago.

In Yuma County, the September 2019 rate was 18.6 percent, down from August’s 23.2 percent. The number is very close to the September 2018 statistic of 18.8 percent, and is the highest in the state.

At the height of the recession Arizona’s unemployment rate hit 11 percent. It then dropped more or less steadily -- until about two years ago.

Arizona’s ``new normal’’ has been floating in the same range since then, even as the federal jobless rate last month slid to 3.5 percent, the lowest since December 1969.

It’s not that Arizona isn’t creating jobs. The latest numbers show the number of people working last month was 16,883 over the prior month, and 85,887 more than a year ago.

But those numbers are pretty much mirrored by the increase in number of people in the labor force, meaning they are working or actively looking. So the overall jobless rate -- a figure determined by the number of active job seekers compared with the total labor force -- does not change.

Locally, Patrick Goetz, employment engagement officer with ARIZONA@ WORK, said the Yuma County Career Centers were visited by 3,546 job seekers during the month of September compared to 3,434 last year at the same time. The agency posted 75 staff assisted job orders, which ended up in 375 job placements. The placements also include job orders that were posted by employers as well. No pending layoffs are noted, Goetz said.

Additionally, the Oct. 2nd Job Fair attracted over 1,550 job seekers. Employers reported that they conducted 224 on site interviews and hired 83 people that day, Goetz said.

Statewide, Arizona’s construction industry continues to lead growth, adding another 1,800 jobs in September and bringing employment levels up by 16,800 since the same time last year. That is a 10.4 percent year-over-year increase.

About the closest in terms of adding workers is the state’s health care industry which hired an ad

ditional 12,700 in the last 12 months. But that marks an increase of just 4 percent in that sector of the economy, which was unaffected by the Great Recession.

Manufacturing shed about 400 jobs in September -- not unusual for this time of year, but employment

still remains 8,900 higher than a year ago.

At the other extreme, retail trade remains weak, with a year-over-year loss of 2,200 jobs. And the real loser within that sector of the economy are clothing and accessories stores, losing another 800 jobs in just the past month amid continued strong competition from online retailers.

On another front, average hourly earnings of Arizonans employed by private industry are up 4.4 percent from the same time last year, compared with a 2.9 percent boost for the country as a whole.

Much of that is driven by a 9.6 percent increase in wages paid by bars, restaurants and hotels, fueled in large part by the votermandated

increase this past January in the minimum wage from $10.50 an hour to the current $11. That initiative will drive the minimum up to $12 automatically at the end of this year.

Overall, though, Arizonans on average earn less than the national average at $26.88 an hour versus $28.24 nationally.