Following some less-than-spectacular Arizona jobless reports, the Ducey administration is scrapping at least temporarily — and perhaps forever — the monthly media briefings on the state's unemployment situation.
For more than three decades, state economists have provided context for reporters about what the latest numbers mean. Most recently that responsibility has fallen to Aruna Murthy, who explains why the raw jobless rate doesn't tell the whole story. In her most recent report, for example, the unemployment rate dropped two tenths of a point. But Murthy pointed out the state gained only 300 private-sector jobs, the worst for that month since the last recession ended.
"I wouldn't say we are beginning to have a recession. But I just feel like there's some slowing down happening in the economy," Murthy said.
And Murthy pointed out other things the raw jobless numbers did not show. She said wages in Arizona are stagnant — at best.
Murthy said while average weekly earnings nationally have continued to rise at a fairly steady rate, federal statistics for Arizona show a trend that is flat and, in some cases, actually declining in the last two years, even before considering inflation.
But even then, Murthy said the lower-paying jobs being created, like 1,100 new call center jobs going to Tucson the governor trumpeted, are nothing to sneeze at.
"Any type of job allows people to spend money. And that has ripple effects across the economy. Whether it is a $10 job or a $20 job, a job is a job," Murthy said.
Late last week, Kevin Donnellan, who runs the Department of Administration, decided there's no longer any need for these briefings and the context they provide. He also fired Murthy.
But Donnellan, who reports to the governor, said there is no connection between those actions and the lackluster reports -- and the media attention they got. He said it was just a decision about priorities and whether the time spent preparing the briefing is worth it.
"I wouldn't say a policy change has been made. But we're looking at changes," said Donnellan.
Donnellan said he would make an economist available to provide "color commentary" for reporters, if necessary.
But economist Don Wehbey, who at one time did the monthly briefings, said there's much more involved than that. He said raw data by itself is often not useful.
Economist Dan Anderson, who also has done those briefings, said there are situations where having someone provide an analysis of the raw numbers actually could make some otherwise bad news less onerous. For example, he said a higher unemployment rate would normally be a concern.
"But yet, sometimes, when the economy is improving, the unemployment rate rises not because the economy is getting bad but rather that people are entering the workforce, looking for jobs," Anderson said. "When they first enter the workforce, they are unemployed. To be unemployed you have to be actively looking for a job."
The Ducey administration has aggressively been working to put out positive messages about the state and the economy.
Last month at a summit of business leaders the governor said Arizona's negative reputation around the country feeds back on itself home in Arizona and that "it's time we shed an inferiority complex inside this state."
Ducey separately announced formation of a new business group, called the Zanjeros, billed by the governor's on his Twitter account as Arizonans "spreading the word about our great business climate."