This Week - Data Releases for the Week Ending
May 4, 2012

by Valorie Hanni Rice
Reference Librarian

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the April national employment report on Friday, May 4th. It shows that nonfarm employment rose in the U.S. by 115,000 in April, compared to 154,000 for March. This after having risen by more than 200,000 in both January and February. The unemployment rate changed only slightly, going down 0.1 of a percent to 8.1 percent.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices were released April 24th. Phoenix saw a 1.2 percent change in home prices from January to February. It was one of only three MSAs to have an increase in prices, Miami (0.6 percent) and San Diego (0.2 percent) being the other two. Phoenix was also one the few metros to have a positive change over the year, with 3.3 percent. Prices were down by 0.8 percent for the month in both the 10-city and 20-city composite indexes. The one year change for the 10-city composite was -3.6 percent and -3.5 for the 20-city composite.

Local area personal income data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis was released on April 25th, including new estimates for 2010 and revised estimates for 2000 to 2009. These county level data shows that personal income in Arizona rose 2.9 percent from 2009 to 2010. All Arizona counties saw an increase, though the amount varied widely, from the least growth in Greenlee (0.1 percent) to the highest in Pinal (7.9 percent). The two largest counties, Maricopa and Pima, had 2.3 and 2.7 percent change in personal income, respectively.

The Census Bureau released a report on annual state government tax collections April 12 (it was revised April 17). It stated that overall collections for states increased $55.7 billion in fiscal year 2011 to $757.2 billion. All states saw an increase in total tax revenue. The change for Arizona (6.48 percent) was below the U.S. (7.94 percent) and far from the state with the highest change, which was North Dakota (44.47 percent).

Arizona had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for March with one out of every 300 housing units in foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac. Arizona’s rate actually dropped 41 percent in March. However, Nevada’s rate dropped even more (62 percent), placing it second. Until this month, Nevada has continuously had the highest monthly foreclosure rate in the nation since the beginning of 2007.

Arizona’s unemployment rate for March was 8.6 percent according to the Arizona Dept. of Administration news release of April 19th. This figure is down 1.4% from a year ago, and represents a one-tenth of one percent decline from the previous month. Arizona added 18,900 nonfarm jobs in March.

Initial unemployment claims filed in Arizona declined in the third week of April from 7080 to 6,699. However, the four-week average stood at 6,589 which represents the fourth consecutive week to see an increase in this measure. With an additional week of data at the national level, applications for unemployment dropped slightlyto 365,000 seasonally adjusted. The four-week average has now climbed for 5 weeks straight and is the highest it has been since December at 383,500.

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The Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.3 percent in March on seasonally adjusted basis, according to data released Friday, April 13th from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 12-month change in inflation was 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment.

Producer Price Indexes released on April 12th. Prices for finished goods were unchanged for March. The unadjusted year-over-year figure was 2.8 percent. This was the smallest 12-month change since June 2010.

The advanced estimate of the first quarter 2012 Gross Domestic Product showed an increase of 2.2 percent on an annual rate. GDP had increased 3 percent in the fourth quarter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis will release a second estimate for the first quarter at the end of May that will be based on more complete data.

The Census Bureau released several reports related to educational attainment on February 23rd. According to data in these reports, more than 30 percent of U.S. adults 25 and older now have at least a bachelor’s degree. The figure for Arizona, based on the 2010 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, is 25.9 percent.