(The Center Square) – Arizona experienced positive year-over-year job growth for the first time in eight months, according to a new report.
The Common Sense Institute Arizona released a report showing that Arizona gained 13,300 jobs year over year in April.
This marked the first time since August 2025 that Arizona saw positive year-over-year job growth.
Arizona grew by 0.41%, ranking 12th in America, the report said, adding that the state’s job growth outpaced the national average of 0.16%.
The April job numbers are more positive than the March statistics, which showed an 8,600-job decrease year over year, said Doug Walls, the labor market information director at the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.
Walls told The Center Square that it has been harder for Arizonans to find new jobs with the decrease in hiring rates in recent years. However, he said numerous Arizona industries are “picking up steam.”
Walls said Arizona’s recent year-over-year job growth has been driven by private sector growth, which he called a “good sign.”
Arizona wants to see “the private sector growing a majority of the employment growth,” he explained.
Year over year in April, the industries that saw the biggest percentage of job growth were mining and logging at 7.74% and education and health services at 3.21%.
Arizona’s biggest industry – trade, transportation and utilities – saw a 0.5% decrease in year-over-year job growth.
But despite the news about job growth, Glenn Farley, CSI’s director of policy and research, said Arizona’s job market picture is not entirely rosy. He said the market has not grown for a while.
“Since early 2024 to today, Arizona’s job market trajectory is effectively flat,” Farley told The Center Square.
The year-over-year job losses for the trade, transportation and utilities industry reflects the “underlying trend” in Arizona’s economy, according to Farley.
One of the industries that shrank the most year over year was government, at a decline of 1.56%.
Walls said the government job losses reflect numbers at the federal, state and local levels. He added that job losses in education have contributed to the decline.
Another industry that experienced job loss was manufacturing. The industry shrank by 0.26% year over year.
From March to April, the report said Arizona gained 8,100 jobs, growing Arizona’s economy at 0.25%. This ranked 16th in the country.
Arizona’s April unemployment rate was 4.7%, which remained unchanged from March. Arizona is tied with Alaska and Massachusetts for the nation’s 36th-lowest unemployment rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Arizona’s monthly job numbers are not providing much information about the state’s economy because of adjustments made to the job statistics by the federal government, Farley said.
He noted the “long-term trend numbers,” such as year-over-year job statistics, are “fairly reliable.”
