Arizona added more than 14,000 jobs in November to set a record level of employment, despite the slowdown in the residential housing market and the construction industry losing more jobs than any other sector.
Seven of the 11 employment sectors gained jobs, four of them reaching records. Retail trade added more than 11,000 of the new jobs, while the construction industry pared 3,100 and lost the largest number of jobs in all industries.
Department of Economic Security Senior Economist Don Wehbey said the numbers show that, while the economy is in a downturn, it still has some life in it.
“Not everything’s dead in the economy,” he said. “We’ve got other pistons firing. They might not be firing at full strength, but they’re still firing.”
The continued slump in construction is a direct result of the housing slowdown caused by the mortgage crisis. The 3,100 jobs lost this month come on top of 4,100 that were lost in October and Wehbey says the construction industry will post negative job growth for 2007, the first time that has happened in Arizona since 2001.