by Ethan Faverino | May 10, 2026 | Economy, News
By Ethan Faverino |
The Joint Economic Committee released its Monthly Employment Update for April 2026, showing the U.S. economy added 115,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, exceeding expectations. The gain was driven entirely by the private sector which added 123,000 jobs, while government employment declined 8,000.
Nonfarm payroll employment now stands at 158.74 million, with private sector payrolls at 135.43 million and government payrolls at 23.31 million. The headline unemployment rate (U-3) held steady at 4.3%, while the broader U-6 measure, which includes underemployment, rose 0.2 percentage points to 8.2%. The labor force participation rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 61.8%.
March’s job gain was revised upward by 8,000 to a total of 185,000, while February’s figure was revised downward by 64,000, resulting in a net loss of 156,000 jobs for that month.
In April, the strongest job gains occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities, which added 60,000 positions, and private education and health services, which added 46,000. Losses were recorded in information (-13,000) and financial activities (-11,000).
Over the past year, from April 2025 to April 2026, private education and health services led with 618,000 new jobs, followed by leisure and hospitality with 142,000. The largest declines came in federal government (-311,00) and information (-92,000).
Wage growth remained moderate over the year. Average nominal weekly and hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls both increased by 3.57%. For production and nonsupervisory employees, average nominal weekly earnings rose 3.97%, while average nominal hourly earnings increased 3.67%.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for March 2026 showed job openings declining by 56,000 to 6.87 million, with the rate falling to 4.1%. Private education and health services and financial activities posted gains in openings, while professional and business services experienced the largest drop. Hires increased sharply by 655,000 to 5.55 million, and total separations rose by 356,000 to 5.38 million, with both quits and layoffs and discharges seeing notable increases.
In Arizona, the labor market softened in March as the state lost 2,600 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 4.7%, following a gain of 10,100 jobs the previous month.
Over the past 12 months, Arizona has lost 8,600 net payroll jobs while its unemployment rate has risen 0.5 percentage points from 4.2%. The state’s private sector lost 2,400 jobs in March, and employment overall fell by 19,093 during the month. Arizona’s labor force participation rate declined to 61.4% ranking 34th in the nation.
From February to March 2026, Arizona saw gains in private education and health services and professional and business services, offset by losses in leisure and hospitality and trade, transportation, and utilities. Over the full year, private education and health services rained the strongest performer in the spare, while trade, transportation, and utilizes and financial activities posted the largest declines.
Nationally, the labor force participation rate stood at 61.9% in March.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Apr 27, 2026 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona’s job growth has fallen behind national trends over the past year, with the state recording a net loss of jobs and rising unemployment, according to a new report from Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee.
The February employment update for Arizona found the state added approximately 11,000 jobs month-over-month, but posted a net loss of about 300 jobs over the previous 12 months.
The report ranked Arizona 24th in the nation for job growth during that period.
Arizona’s unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent, up from 4.2 percent one year earlier, while the state’s labor force participation rate declined to 61.7 percent, down 0.4 percentage points year-over-year.
Nationally, the labor market continued to expand, with U.S. payrolls increasing by roughly 178,000 jobs in March, while the national unemployment rate remained lower at approximately 4.3 percent.
The report indicates Arizona’s recent performance has lagged the national pace on several key labor metrics, including year-over-year job growth and unemployment trends.
At the same time, the data shows continued monthly job gains in Arizona, reflecting ongoing hiring activity despite weaker longer-term growth.
Other analyses have also pointed to slowing job growth in the state. A December 2025 update from the Common Sense Institute found Arizona’s job growth had moderated significantly compared to earlier post-pandemic years.
Separately, the Arizona Chamber Foundation reported that job growth in 2025 was minimal following revisions to earlier employment data.
Conversely, state officials have highlighted other economic indicators in recent months. Governor Katie Hobbs’ office cited a report ranking Arizona second nationally in overall economic performance, which includes measures such as population growth, domestic migration, and gross domestic product.
The Joint Economic Committee report focuses specifically on labor market conditions, including employment levels, unemployment, and workforce participation.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Jonathan Eberle | Sep 16, 2025 | Economy, News
By Jonathan Eberle |
According to a new report from the Common Sense Institute (CSI), inflation in the Phoenix metro area rose 1.4% year-over-year in August, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The increase marks a climb from June’s 0.8% reading and ends a four-month stretch where local inflation hovered below 1%.
As noted by the report, the uptick comes as Arizona’s economy shows signs of slowing, with weaker job growth and a cooling housing market. Still, compared with much of the nation, inflation in Phoenix remains subdued. Among the 23 metro areas tracked monthly, Phoenix ranked 20th in year-over-year price growth, continuing a dramatic reversal from 2022 and 2023, when the region routinely topped the list for fastest-rising prices.
Nationally, inflation picked up in August, rising 2.9% from a year earlier after holding steady at 2.7% in the prior two months. Prices across the country have now exceeded the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for more than two years.
Since August 2019, consumer prices in Phoenix have climbed 30.2%, adding about $1,525 in monthly costs for the average Arizona household. Nationally, prices are up 26.3% over the same period. Typically, inflation would run closer to 10% in a five-year span. On a two-month basis, Phoenix saw a 0.9% increase from June to August, tying January for the largest short-term jump of the year. Nationally, prices rose 0.6% over that period.
Housing costs remain a key driver of Phoenix’s relatively low inflation reading. Shelter prices fell 0.1% year-over-year in August, the fourth consecutive month of negative growth. Excluding shelter, inflation in the Valley was 2.3%—still below the national average, but nearly double the headline local figure. The Federal Reserve, which aims to balance price stability with job growth, faces a complicated outlook. While local inflation has hovered below target for nearly a year, national prices have not fallen under 2.3% since 2021.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 8, 2025 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Although the causes are attributed to various factors by different sources, largely dependent on political leanings, one irrefutable fact emerged on Monday. During Governor Katie Hobbs’ tenure, Arizona has plunged from a ranking of 4th place in the nation in job growth, to 47th.
On Monday, Russ Wiles, writing for the Arizona Republic noted, “AZ no longer ranks near the top for job creation,” and asked rhetorically, “What went wrong?”
Citing figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Republic reported that Arizona now ranks in 47th place among the fifty states, just ahead of Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Iowa. The report cited a net loss of 1,900 jobs year-to-date in 2025.
In 2020, at the height of the first Trump Administration and under former Gov. Doug Ducey’s tenure, Arizona ranked third in the nation for economic momentum.
In 2019, the Phoenix Metro area even beat out the largest cities in California, Texas, and Florida to take the #1 slot for job growth.
More recently, in a March 2024 statement, Hobbs touted that Arizona ranked 4th in job growth, and tripled the national average in workforce growth. In the pronouncement, which has aged quite poorly, the governor even dubbed herself “Governor Katie Jobbs,” and credited the “81,800 jobs created,” to “investments in housing, healthcare, infrastructure, childcare, and education.”
Meanwhile, a Goldwater Institute op-ed in January, predicting an acrimonious budget battle that materialized over the next five months, pointed out Hobbs’ askew priorities. While the beleaguered Democrat focused on defeating Arizona’s popular Empowerment Scholarship Account program (ESA) and presided over a surge in crime, her failure to account for $800 million in statutorily required Medicaid spending and an affordable housing crisis represented “fiscal mismanagement at its worst.”
AZCentral’s Russ Wiles, in working to answer “What went wrong?” addressed one factor in the decline as “slowing migration, with fewer people moving here from other states,” which dovetails with the affordable housing issue and the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) rule cracking down on new developments.
Lee McPheters, director of the Economic Outlook Center for Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business, noted to the outlet, “With domestic migration trending down and international migration dropping off a cliff in 2025, the impetus for population growth has diminished and undoubtedly plays a role here.”
In May, Goldwater launched a legal battle against the Hobbs administration over the ADWR’s controversial new rule imposing the requirement of a 100-year “unmet demand” groundwater supply rule across wide swaths of the state, essentially choking out new housing development.
In addition, as Wiles notes, construction employment has been further weakened by rising material costs, with overall job growth stunted by tariff uncertainty and high interest rates.
Large scale layoffs, such as Nikola Corp.’s 855 jobs lost to its February bankruptcy and Joann Fabrics’ layoffs of 374 employees in January, also factored in heavily. While not directly attributable to Hobbs’ actions, the losses drew a spotlight to a lack of decisive action from Hobbs to attract new employers to Arizona in the short term.
Another factor, unmarked by AZCentral however, has been the $1.6 billion deficit under Hobbs which forced budget cuts, including Department of Economic Security layoffs that directly contributed to the 1,900 net job loss. As Common Sense Institute of Arizona (CSIAZ) explained in June, rather than being caused by Arizona’s flat tax, the shortfall was caused by a massive increase in spending under Hobbs.
“If spending had followed historical trends, Arizona would have had a $4.3 billion surplus rather than a $1.6 billion cash shortfall last year,” CSIAZ wrote.
Hobbs’ vetoes could present the most egregious contribution she’s made. By vetoing 178 total bills in 2025, 73 in 2024, and 143 in 2023, totaling 424 to date, or approximately a third of all bills sent to her desk, Hobbs has prevented the implementation of a comprehensive policy for economic growth from either her administration or Republican leaders in the state legislature from materializing.
Ultimately, Hobbs’ unwillingness to work productively with Republican lawmakers and her active obstruction of legislation to reduce tax burdens, ease regulation, and stimulate job growth may have proven to be as prominent in Arizona economics as it has been in politics. And as prominent Democratic President Harry Truman famously said, “The buck stops here.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jun 2, 2025 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
The State of Arizona led the United States in monthly job growth for the month of April according to a report released by the Common Sense Institute of Arizona (CSIAZ) following a three-month period of negative annual growth.
As reported by the CSIAZ, Arizona saw an increase of 14,200 non-farm jobs in the month of April for an increase of 0.44% or a year-over-year increase of 0.76%, ranking the state first in the nation for monthly job growth. Overall, the total job-growth in the U.S. was 0.11%, with eleven states losing jobs. However, despite the job growth, the CSIAZ reported that inflation-adjusted wages have decreased by 4.2% since 2020, and total employment remains over 212,000 jobs under the pre-pandemic trend.
In a posting to X, CSIAZ noted that in the last 12 months, the state gained 24,600 jobs for a 0.76% increase.
According to the report, the job gains haven’t been consistent across various industries, with clear winners and losers:
“The state’s fastest growing sector over the past twelve months was Education and Health Services, adding 22,600 jobs (+4.2%). Its slowest growing sector was Professional and Business Services, which lost -4,400 jobs (0.9%). The Education and Health Services sector has steadily grown since 2020 (losing only 48,000 jobs during the pandemic) and is now at its all-time highest level of employment. Professional and Business Services on the other hand peaked in January 2024 but has been declining since.”
Drilling into discrepancies in wages and time worked, Arizona workers experienced a decrease in non-seasonally adjusted wages of -$0.13 during the month of April, placing Arizona far behind the rest of the country’s steady, though anemic, wage growth rate of +$0.06 over the same month. But year-over-year Arizona is continuing to outperform the U.S. average with wage growth of $1.49, up 4.5% annually.
This wage growth, however, has failed to keep up with CPI Inflation as noted earlier, making Arizonans feel a pinch at the register, and as CSIAZ explained, real wages were only up “4.2% year-over-year and after CPI inflation, compared to the April nominal increase of 4.4%.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
