Benjie Sanders / Arizona Daily Star 2006

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Maintenance Technician Trades/Construction
FAULK ELECTRIC
ELECTRICAL Sales and Marketing
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Sales Manager Technical
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REPOSSESSION DRIVERS Trades/Construction
SCHMUESER & ASSOCIATES
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Administrative Assistant

PHOENIX — Arizona's jobless rate took a jump last month as the number of new jobs created was less than expected.

The state's unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, the same figure it was a year earlier. But that is up six-tenths of a point from October.

Pima County's jobless rate in November also was 4.1 percent, up from 4 percent in November 2006 and 3.5 percent in October.

Don Wehbey, senior economist for the state Department of Economic Security, said the 14,400 new jobs in November was enough to push the state to another new record for the number of people employed. The total now is 2,753,500.

As expected, the number of people working in retail trade increased in November as merchants gear up for the Christmas season. Employment levels are 11,100 over October.

Wehbey said, though, this is only about 90 percent of what would be expected at this time of year.

But the real drag on Arizona's economy continues to be the construction industry which shed another 3,100 jobs in November. Employment levels now are nearly 21,000 below what they were at the same time last year.

That slowdown is having ripple effects through the rest of the economy. Arizona's financal services sector lost 700 jobs in November, much of that in the mortgage service industry.

And even manufacturing has been affected, as the demand is shrinking for items for the homes that are not being built, like sheet metal for air conditioning ducts.

But Wehbey said there is a bright spot on the horizon. He said while manufacturing lost 200 jobs last month, that is less than the prior month, which is less than the month before that. In fact, he said the trend suggests manufacturing employment actually could begin to increase sometime next year.