Three straight years of job losses has brought employment in Arizona to numbers not seen since 2004, the state Department of Commerce said last week.
The report said the state has lost 267,000 jobs since December 2007, and estimates that pre-recession employment will not rebound to 2008 levels for another six years.
The jobless rate in Arizona was 9.6% in July, about the same as in January and slightly higher than the national average of 9.5%.
A separate report from the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at Arizona State University said the state lost almost 134,000 jobs in 2009 and will lose another 45,000 jobs in 2010.
A Commerce Department analyst said the state will post a net gain of 158,000 jobs from 2008 to 2018, and won’t reach pre-recession employment numbers until 2016.
An ASU economist predicted Arizona’s job market would recover in 2014.
One of the hardest-hit sectors was construction due to a plunge in single-family homes. Officials said construction employers have laid off more than 50% of the workers that were on their payroll in December 2007.
