By Valorie Hanni Rice
Senior Specialist, Business Information
There were 1,504 bankruptcies filed in AZ for October, a drop of 24.3% compared to same month last year, with all three offices in the state having fewer filings compared to a year ago. Year-to-date figures for October put the state 13.8% lower than January-October of last year.
The September international trade release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed total exports for the month of $195.6 billion and imports of $238.6 billion, resulting in a goods and services deficit of $43.0 billion, up from a revised $40.0 billion in August. The goods and services deficit increased $0.8 billion from September 2013 to September 2014.
Initial unemployment claims were stable for Arizona in the middle of October, at 4,298. The four-week average lowered slightly to 4,458 from 4.483 the week prior. Continued claims, at 33,416, were the lowest for the state since January 2008. The U.S. initial claims data were quite a bit lower for the week ending November 1, down 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000. The four-week average was also lower at 279,000, which is the lowest it has been since 2000.
The October employment situation was released on Friday, November 7th. Total nonfarm employment for the U.S. increased 214,000 in October. Sectors that had the most growth over the month were food services and drinking places, retail trade, and health services. The unemployment rate ticked down 0.1% to 5.8% for the month.
Hands and calculator photo courtesy Shutterstock.
