by Valorie H. Rice
Senior Specialist, Business Information
Current data releases as of 30 March 2018
The share of the Arizona labor force in 2017 that were veterans was 7%, above the national share of 6.4%. The annual Employment Situation of Veterans from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was released March 22. Alaska, Virginia, and South Dakota had the highest shares of veterans in their labor forces, with 12.1%, 10.8%, and 10.2%, respectively. The unemployment rate for veterans was 3.7% nationally compared to 4.2% for nonveterans. The unemployment rate for veterans varied within states with Maine having the lowest at 1.7% to a high of 7.3% in Vermont. Arizona’s unemployment rate for veterans was 5.2%.
Real GDP rose at an annual rate of 2.9% in the fourth quarter 2017 according to the March 28 Bureau of Economic Analysis release. This was a bit higher than the initial estimates for the quarter. With the fourth quarter estimate, the 2017 real GDP growth was pegged at 2.3% compared to 1.5% in 2016.
Phoenix house prices rose 5.9% over the year in January according to the March 27 S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index release. House prices in the U.S. gained 6.2% in the same time period while prices in the 20-city composite grew 6.4%. The highest year-over-year price increases continue to be in the West, with Seattle up 12.9%, Las Vegas increasing 11.1% and San Francisco increasing 10.2%. Washington, D.C. and Chicago both had over the year gains of only 2.4%.
Personal income in Arizona rose 4.3% in 2017, the fifth highest increase of personal income out of all states for the year. Washington had the most change in personal income with an increase of 4.8% while North Dakota had a decrease of 0.3% (the only state with a decrease). State personal income for the nation increased 3.1%. Net earnings was a primary contributor to the increase of income for most states, including Arizona. Health care earnings increased 6.4% in Arizona compared to 4.1% for the nation.
Arizona job growth was 2.3% in February compared to 1.6% for the nation. Education and health services sector had the most employment gains over the year in the state followed closely by construction. Information was the only sector to lose jobs over the year. The unemployment rate for Arizona continued to gradually climb, moving up 0.1% to 4.9% according to the March 22 Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity release. February employment change for Arizona metros: Phoenix 3.0%, Flagstaff 2.0%, Tucson 1.2%, Yuma 0.7%
There were 940 bankruptcies filed in Arizona during February. This is the second year in a row that February bankruptcy filings were less than 1,000, as February 2017 was 882. In fact, the average for the month has been 1,486 over the last 15 years. Year-to-date bankruptcies in the state are up 4.2%, however, with liquidation (chapter 7) and individual debt adjustment (chapter 13) filings both increasing over the same period last year.
