County jobless rate dips below 6%

Arizonans are finding jobs this spring, and an even higher percentage of Pinal County residents are getting hired.

While the state’s unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percent from February to March, the county’s rate dropped from 6.6 to 5.8 percent in that month’s time, according to numbers released today by the Arizona Department of Administration. Pinal started the year with a jobless rate of 7.0 percent.

County officials credited actions in economic development for the shift.

"In the past year the amount of capital investment in Pinal County was $101 million,” County Manager Greg Stanley said. “We are expecting it to go up significantly in the next few years."

Pinal County’s unemployment rate has dropped below the state’s rate of 6.2 percent.

Statewide, the biggest job growth was in leisure and hospitality, which added 5,400 jobs in March. Of that, 3,600 were in arts, entertainment and recreation. According to Aruna Murthy of the Arizona Department of Administration, that is the largest gain on record (since 1990) for any month in that sector.

Education and health services picked up 1,000 jobs in Arizona, while trade, transportation and utilities gained 900 jobs. The 700 jobs added in construction was primarily due to “specialty trades,” which offset losses in heavy construction and building construction.

Government lost 500 jobs, all at the local level. Local government education lost 1,200.

The biggest employment losses in the state were in professional and business services, shedding 2,600 jobs after the holidays and the Super Bowl.

In the past year, Arizona has gained 66,700 jobs. According to Murthy, the first quarter of this year was the highest average over-the-year gain in nonfarm employment since 2007.

Pinal County’s labor force grew by 149 people from February to March after a slight decline from January to February. The number of employed people grew by 1,298.

"Those numbers show that we are gaining members of the civilian labor force as residents and they are able to find work when they come here," Economic Development Director Tim Kanavel said. "That in itself is amazing. But those numbers reflect the total complete county team effort to help me sell Pinal County to these companies looking to locate here. It shows that everyone from our supervisors to our county employees are committed to making Pinal County a destination for everyone."