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Arizona's Seasonal Employment Rate Remains Stable

Arizona’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate held steady at 4.5% in January. But officials are keeping a close eye on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the state’s Office of Economic Opportunity, Arizona lost about 47,000 jobs between December and January. But job losses are normal for January, when seasonal demand tends to drop off.

Doug Walls is the office’s market research director. He says this year’s drop was actually less than usual, with the state typically shedding 51,000 jobs in January over the past decade.

Overall, the state’s private sector has added 68,000 jobs from a year ago, with particularly strong growth in the health care field.

Walls says the January numbers show no effect from the coronavirus outbreak. But his agency is closely monitoring the latest data to assess the economic impact of the growing pandemic.

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Greg Hahne started as a news intern at KJZZ in 2020 and returned as a field correspondent in 2021. He learned his love for radio by joining Arizona State University's Blaze Radio, where he worked on the production team.