Pinal jobless rate now below state average
by Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
By HOWARD FISCHER, Capitol Media Services
The state’s jobless rate ticked down last month by two-tenths of a point.
New figures from the state 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.
In Pinal County, the jobless rate dipped below 6 percent for the first time since June of last year coming in at 5.7 percent. It was also the first time in a year the county’s rate was less than the state average.
Pinal County Economic Development Director Tim Kanavel said the county has come a long way since the Great Recession.
“When I got here six years ago the rate was 13.2 percent,” he said.
