During fall 2021, overall enrollment at Arizona’s public universities increased with notable growth in students taking online classes, according to the Fiscal Year 2022 Fall Enrollment Report approved by the Arizona Board of Regents. Online degree program students now comprise a third - 33.4% - of the university system’s total enrollment. Total student enrollment at … [More]

The state’s leading small-business association today encouraged all Arizonans to reserve some of their holiday shopping time and money for Small Business Saturday, November 27, the day after Black Friday and two days before Cyber Monday. “Shopping at small businesses helps the Arizona economy,” said Chad Heinrich, Arizona state director for the National Federation of … [More]

U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman encouraged Americans to Shop Small on Small Business Saturday®, November 27, in support of their local businesses and Main Street economies. “This Small Business Saturday, let’s celebrate the contributions of small businesses to our communities by supporting small in all the ways that we can,” said … [More]

In a repeat of the 2020 experience, after a very strong third quarter, home prices across the United States continued to climb in October albeit at a slower pace than in September. Radian HPI rose at an annualized rate of 17.3 percent in the month of October, slightly below the 17.6 percent recorded in the prior month, according to Radian Home Price Index (HPI) data released … [More]

In the week ending November 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 268,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 267,000 to 269,000. The 4-week moving average was 272,750, a decrease of … [More]

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its latest Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), which analyzes single-family rent price changes nationally and across major metropolitan areas. September 2021 data shows a national rent increase of 10.2% year over year, up from a 2.6% year-over-year increase in September … [More]

Total construction starts pushed 16% higher in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.01 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonresidential building starts gained 29% and nonbuilding moved 52% higher in October, while residential starts lost 8%. The month’s large gains resulted from the start of three large projects: two massive manufacturing plants … [More]

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for August 2021. For the month of August, 4% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 2.6-percentage point decrease … [More]

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.9 percent in October on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.4 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 6.2 percent before seasonal adjustment. The monthly all items seasonally adjusted increase was broad-based, … [More]

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index decreased slightly in October by 0.9 points to 98.2. One of the 10 Index components improved, seven declined, and two were unchanged. “Small business owners are attempting to take advantage of current economic growth but remain pessimistic about business conditions in the near future,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill … [More]

While rising vaccination rates against COVID-19 have increased travelers’ comfort levels, most Americans are still opting to stay home this holiday season, according to a new national survey commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) conducted by Morning Consult. The survey found that 29% of Americans are likely to travel for Thanksgiving and 33% are … [More]

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 531,000 in October, and the unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 percentage point to 4.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread, with notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing. … [More]

Small business owners continued to struggle to find workers to fill open positions in October with 49% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reporting job openings they could not fill in the current period, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report. A net 44% (seasonally adjusted) of owners reported raising compensation, up two points from September and a 48-year record high … [More]

In the week ending October 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 269,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 281,000 to 283,000. The 4-week moving average was 284,750, a decrease of … [More]