By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Star
Arizona’s jobless rate ticked down last month by two-tenths of a point.
New figures from the Arizona Department of Administration put the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 5.8 percent. That still is higher than the national rate of 5.0 percent, which remained unchanged between November and December.
Overall, private businesses said they added 13,300 jobs in Arizona. But the gains were not across the board. There were some job losses at bars and restaurants. It’s not unusual for losses in that sector this time of year, but the number shed was twice as high as normal, said Doug Walls, research administrator for the department.
