PHOENIX — After fourth months in a row with the lowest unemployment rate in state, Graham County has slipped to second place.
That’s according to data released Thursday by the Arizona Commerce Authority, which reported Graham County climbed seven-tenths of a point to 6.3 percent unemployment in June.
Greenlee County also saw a slight increase in unemployment, going from 5.8 percent in May to tie Graham County for second-lowest in the state at 6.3 percent in June.
Yavapai County moved past Graham and Greenlee to record the lowest unemployment in the state, at 6.1 percent. Nearby Cochise County increased five-tenths of a point to 6.9 percent unemployment in June.
Statewide, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate climbed one-tenth of a point in June to 6.8 percent; however, that is well below the same time last year, when Arizona’s unemployment rate was at 10.7 percent. The national rate also climbed one-tenth of a point in June to 5.9 percent.
All of Arizona’s economic sectors reported job gains in June: trade, Transportation and utilities (up 46,100 jobs); leisure and hospitality (up 41,500 jobs); education and health services (up 24,300 jobs); professional and business services (up 16,700 jobs); manufacturing (up 5,000 jobs); government (up 5,000 jobs); financial activities (up 3,000 jobs); construction (up 1,700 jobs); information (up 900 jobs); and natural resources and mining (up 700 jobs).