PHOENIX — 2021 is starting the same way 2020 ended, with Greenlee County having the lowest unemployment in the state.
According to data released March 11 by the Arizona Commerce Authority, Greenlee County had an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent in January, down 0.2 points from December.
Greenlee was tied with Cochise County at 5.8 percent in January, and it was the 13th month in a row that Greenlee County had or was tied for the lowest unemployment rate in the state.
Graham County showed improvement in January, dropping from 6.6 percent unemployment in December to 6.1 percent in January. That puts Graham County at fifth lowest, behind Yavapai County at 5.9 percent and La Paz County at 6.0 percent.
Statewide, unemployment is at 6.7 percent, down 0.1 points from December and up 1.9 points from January 2020. The national rate climbed 0.1 points to 6.8 percent.
Just two economic sectors reported job gains in January: Information was up 1,200 jobs, and natural resources and mining gained 100 jobs.
Posting job losses were: Trade, transportation and utilities (down 21,800 jobs); professional and business services (down 5,100 jobs); education and health services (down 4,200 jobs); financial activities (down 2,500 jobs; leisure and hospitality (down 1,700 jobs); construction (down 1,100 jobs); and manufacturing (down 800 jobs).
