Apache County's December unemployment rate was 7.3%, the second highest of the state's 15 counties.

Unemployment rate is rising nationwide Same level as the price before the new coronavirus infection, has been measured between 3.5% and 4% for most of the past two years. The unemployment rate was 3.7% in January, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Previously, the unemployment rate spiked to 14.7% at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, and the rate remained elevated until late 2021.

Although the national unemployment rate has largely normalized, regional economies vary widely.Using stacker Bureau of Labor Statistics data Analyzing Apache County's unemployment rate over time and how it stacks up in Arizona and across the nation.

Apache County's unemployment rate is 3.6 percentage points above the national level and 3.0 percentage points above the state level. It ranks second among Arizona counties, first in preliminary unemployment rate for December 2023, and second in number of unemployed people. The unemployment rate is 12.9%, behind Yuma County, but higher than Santa Cruz County (7.0%).

In real terms, that means an estimated 1,387 of Apache County's approximately 19,045 working residents are currently unemployed. This is an increase of two cases from last month and an increase of 71 cases from a year ago. Some economists fear a new recession is on the horizon, with business closures and layoffs causing unemployment to rise.

This article was created using automation across 3,100 counties, boroughs, and parishes, with writing and data reporting by Paxtyn Merten.