The state’s unemployment rate hit 4% in September. That’s an increase of 0.2% from the previous month.
At the same time, the number of people who quit their jobs voluntarily fell from 3% down to 2.6%
The private sector added about 14,800 jobs last month which is above average. That followed two months of below-average gains.
The number of job openings have fallen slightly since 2022 but are still higher than some pre-pandemic numbers in 2019.
Doug Walls with the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity says increased interest rates from the Federal Reserve has impacted some industries more so than others.
He cited the fact that the construction industry shed a higher than normal amount of jobs for September.
