Valorie Rice, Senior Business Information Specialist
Current data releases as of 27 August 2021
Arizona was one of 17 states with a lower unemployment rate in July than June. The August 20 State Employment and Unemployment release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated unemployment rates were stable in 33 states and the District of Columbia. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Arizona was 6.6 percent in July, down from 6.8 percent in June. Nevada had the highest jobless rate at 7.7 percent while Nebraska had the lowest at 2.3 percent followed by Utah at 2.6 percent. Connecticut, Hawaii and Oregon had the biggest decrease from one month to the next dropping 0.4 percentage points each. The national unemployment rate was 5.4 percent for the month, a decline of 0.5 percentage point.
Arizona nonfarm employment increased 6.7 percent over the year in July before seasonal adjustment with all eleven sectors having positive gains in employment according to the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity August 19 release. Leisure and hospitality gained 60,100 jobs since July of last year, making it the sector with the largest employment increase. Employment increases for Arizona metropolitan areas not seasonally adjusted were 7.6 percent for both Phoenix and Prescott, 7.1 percent for Flagstaff, 6.1 percent for Yuma, 6.0 percent for Lake Havasu City-Kingman, 4.9 percent for Tucson, and 3.6 percent for Sierra Vista-Douglas. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Arizona was 6.6 percent in July, down from 6.8 percent in June.
Second quarter 2021 U.S. real gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 6.6 percent according to the August 26 Bureau of Economic Analysis release, a slight change from the advanced estimate of 6.5 percent. The first-quarter real GDP was 6.3 percent.
Average weekly wages increased 5.2 percent in Maricopa County and 2.0 percent in Pima County between the first quarter 2020 and first quarter 2021 according to the August 18 County Employment and Wages (QCEW) release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average week wages increased in 312 of the 343 largest counties included in the report with San Francisco County, CA posting the largest increase of 33.9 percent. Nationally, the increase was 5.6 percent. Employment was lower in most counties from March 2020 to March 2021. Employment decreased the most in Calcasieu, LA with a drop of 14.9 percent while several counties in Utah were among the few that had employment growth during that period; Utah County, UT had the largest gain at 6.1 percent. Maricopa and Pima counties both posted employment decreases at 2.2 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively.
Consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in July on a seasonally adjusted basis. Food, energy, new vehicles and shelter all contributed to the increase of the overall index. The energy index was up 1.6 percent for the month with gasoline prices increasing 2.4 percent. Food increased 0.7 percent with food away from home rising 0.8 percent and food at home going up 0.7 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent. Prices for new vehicles rose 1.7 percent compared to 0.2 for used vehicles. Prices for used vehicles had been much higher in the last few months, such the 10.5 percent increase in June. The unadjusted annual inflation rate was 5.4 percent for July. The 12-month change in food prices was 3.4 percent and 4.3 percent for all items less food and energy. Energy prices, however, rose 23.8 percent during that period according to the August 11 release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
