New report finds Arizona’s job market is beating the rest of the US

PHOENIX — Arizona’s economy is doing better than the rest of the country in terms of employment, but the Grand Canyon state still has its challenges.

That’s according to data from the Greater Phoenix Chamber, which released its latest Arizona Economic Insights Dashboard findings on Tuesday.

The dashboard functions as a tool residents can use to see real-time, interactive data on the state’s economy. It analyzes unemployment, income, housing data and more.

Todd Sanders, the chamber’s president and CEO, said the numbers help paint a picture of Arizona’s current and future financial landscape.

“As far as things like unemployment, our gross domestic product, the amount that we produce is better than the rest of the country,” Sanders told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday.

However, housing is still an issue, he said.

How is the Arizona job market 2024?

Workforce results were promising. Job openings in Arizona shot up by 0.9% in June, which outperformed nationwide totals. Over the same period, the U.S. overall say a slight decline of 0.1%.

Another finding was that Arizona’s unemployment rate hovered consistently below the national average from April through July of this year.

In fact, in July, Arizona’s unemployment rate was 3.4%. This was nearly full percentage point below the U.S. average of 4.3%, which is a seasonally adjusted number.

However, Yuma County’s unemployment rate was like a rollercoaster. It rose to 16%, which was higher than any of Arizona’s other counties.

Part of this has to do with the inflow and outflow of people outside of Maricopa County, Sanders said.

“When the summer hits people tend to leave Yuma but then when things cool down, we have a lot of folks coming back in,” Sanders said. “Those numbers can certainly change as we get into the next quarter.”

How international events impact Arizona’s economy overall

Sanders also said that although many international news stories may seem far away, they have a huge impact on life in the Valley and beyond.

“Geopolitical concerns outside of the U.S. are a big concern for us here in Arizona,” Sanders said. “Think about that: 7,000 miles away, Iran fires 100 ballistic missiles at Israel and that certainly destabilizes that region. Oil prices went up.”

This could have ripple effects throughout the economy, he added.

“That is going to have a shockwave here,” Sanders said. “If we think about oil going up, we have perhaps the spectrum of inflation coming back to a certain extent.”