Unadjusted Arizona payrolls rose 0.7%; adjusted labor force fell 3.2%

Arizona’s not-seasonally-adjusted nonfarm payroll employment was 22,700 jobs higher in September than a year earlier, a 0.7% increase, while the seasonally adjusted labor force fell by 121,241 people, or 3.2%. The figures measure different things: payroll employment counts jobs by place of work, while the labor force counts people.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.9% in September, unchanged from August and up from 4.4% in September 2025. The U.S. rate was 4.2%. The Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity’s September employment report, dated Oct. 15, also found that the month’s unadjusted payroll gain was below the average for September in 2010–2019.

Monthly payroll measures differ

The unadjusted payroll count rose by 23,700 from August, while the seasonally adjusted count declined by 300. The two figures use different adjustment methods and should not be treated as the same month-to-month measure. The unadjusted September increase was 5,100 below the average September gain of 28,800 recorded from 2010 through 2019.

Monthly private-sector and industry changes are also not seasonally adjusted. Private-sector employment rose by 1,500 from August, including gains of 5,400 in private educational services and 2,000 in trade, transportation and utilities. Those figures are not directly comparable with the 300-job decline in the seasonally adjusted statewide payroll total.

Year-over-year gains varied by industry

Private-sector employment increased by 25,900 over the year, while government employment fell by 3,200. Health care and social assistance added 12,500 jobs, and professional and business services added 9,400. In contrast, leisure and hospitality lost 7,800 jobs, while financial activities lost 6,100.

The statewide payroll increase therefore did not represent uniform growth across industries. The figures describe employment changes, but the labor-force decline is a separate measure; the report does not establish its cause.

County unemployment rates were unadjusted

County unemployment rates, which are not seasonally adjusted, ranged from 3.1% in Greenlee County to 14.5% in Yuma County. Maricopa County’s rate was 4.1%. Because these county figures are unadjusted, they are not directly comparable with the statewide seasonally adjusted rate of 4.9%.

OEO defines nonfarm employment as jobs counted by place of work. The measure excludes agricultural workers, self-employed people, unpaid family workers and domestic workers, so it is not a count of employed Arizona residents. The labor-force measure counts people. OEO marks some estimates as preliminary or revised, and those estimates may change.

OEO lists its October 2026 Employment Report for Nov. 19, 2026, at 10 a.m.