by Valorie H. Rice
Senior Specialist, Business Information
Current data releases as of 07 September 2018
Job growth in Arizona was 2.7% in July compared to 1.6% for the U.S. Industries with the most job gains over the year were education and health services followed by construction. Natural resources and mining was the only industry to lose jobs. The unemployment rate for Arizona ticked down to 4.6% in July according to the August 16 Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity release. Over the year employment growth for Arizona metro areas in July: Lake Havasu City-Kingman 4.1%, Phoenix 3.1%, Yuma 2.3%, Prescott 2.2%, Flagstaff 2.1%, Tucson 2.0%, and Sierra Vista-Douglas 0.3%.
Home prices in Phoenix increased 7.2% over the year in June, a full percentage higher that the U.S. at 6.2%. The 20-city composite rose 6.3% over the year according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices released August 28. Las Vegas took over the top spot for house price gains with 13.0% followed by Seattle at 12.8% and San Francisco at 10.7%. Home prices increased only 2.9% in Washington, D.C., which was the lowest increase among the 20-city composite.
U.S. total nonfarm employment went up 201,000 in August according to the September 7 Bureau of Labor Statistics release. Both June and July employment figures had downward revisions, with the combined result of 50,000 less jobs than previously reported. Industries with the most job gains for August were professional and business services, health care, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing. Average hourly earnings increased 2.9% over the year. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.9% for the month.
The U.S. trade deficit rose to $50.1 billion in July. Exports dropped 1.0% to $211.1 billion for the month while imports rose to $261.2 billion. The year-to-date deficit of goods and services was 7.0% higher than the same period a year ago according to the September 5 joint release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau.
The number of bankruptcy filings in Arizona last month were similar to the year before with 1,531 filings in August, just 0.5% more than the same month a year ago. There has only been one month so far this year in which the number of filings were lower than the previous year, which was March. Year-to-date, bankruptcies are up 3.2% in the state with the Tucson office having the highest increase at 7.1%.
Real GDP for the U.S. increased at an annual rate of 4.2% in the second quarter 2018 according to the second estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on August 29. Real GDP increased 2.2% in the first quarter 2018. A third estimate will be released on September 27.
Unemployment was lower in most metropolitan areas in July compared to a year earlier according to the July 29 Bureau of Labor Statistics release. All Arizona metropolitan areas unemployment rates were either lower or unchanged over the year. Despite the lower figure, Yuma still had the highest unemployment rate in the nation for the month at 20.9%. The lowest unemployment rate was 1.8% in Ames, Iowa.
Employment increased in 314 of the 349 largest counties in the U.S. between March 2017 and March 2018. The first quarter 2018 County Employment and Wages (QCEW) released on August 22 indicated the average weekly wage in the U.S. increased 3.7% for the same period. Maricopa and Pima, the two largest counties in Arizona, had increases in employment and wages from first quarter to first quarter. Pima’s employment increased 0.9% while wages for the county rose 4.1%. In Maricopa, employment and wages grew in tandem, increasing 3.2% and 3.3%, respectively.
The Census Bureau reported that the number of women-owned employer firms increased 2.8% between 2015 and 2016. The 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs released August 13 provides information on businesses by gender, ethnicity, race and veteran status for firms with payroll in the U.S., states, and the 50 largest metropolitan areas. In Arizona, the number of women-owned employer firms increased 3.0% in 2016.
