Phoenix Unemployment Rates Fall - sort of

There is an interesting East Valley Tribune article on the unemployment rates in Arizona and the Valley.

Phoenix maintains its (relatively) low unemployment rate.

But as the article points out, the number of people employed in Arizona declined by 4,600 from March. The rate dropped because the number of people actually looking for work declined even more — by 12,500.

On the real estate front, the construction industry remains a weak spot, losing 3,200 jobs in April. 600 in the finance sector lost jobs in April, and the year-over-year loss there is a whopping 7,900.

Lower unemployment is generally a good economic indicator, but one must closely examine the numbers. In this case, the UI rate alone doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story (further proof that statistics can be misleading — be careful when interpreting them).

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