By George Hammond, EBRC director and Eller research professor

Arizona added 6,500 jobs over the month in November (seasonally adjusted), according to the latest employment situation release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was close to the average over-the-month job change during the 2015-2019 period, but significantly slower than October.

Arizona has now replaced 68.3% of the 294,600 jobs lost from February to April. That was better than the national replacement rate of 55.6%. Arizona jobs are still 93,400 below February.

Since June, Arizona’s over-the-month job growth has averaged 12,600. At that pace, it will take eight months for the state to regain its February employment level.

Most of the jobs added over the month in November were in transportation and warehousing, followed by leisure and hospitality. Professional and business services; government; other services; and information lost jobs.

As Exhibit 1 shows, job growth has been uneven across the state’s metropolitan areas. Jobs in Flagstaff are still 17.4% below February, while jobs in Prescott (-0.3%) and Sierra-Vista Douglas (-1.4%) have nearly recovered. In November, jobs in Phoenix and Tucson were 2.9% and 4.1% below February, respectively.

Exhibit 1: Nonfarm Payroll Jobs in Arizona’s Metropolitan Areas, Percent Change from February 2020, Seasonally Adjusted

The Arizona unemployment rate fell slightly in November, to 7.8% from 7.9% in October (seasonally adjusted). Arizona’s rate was above the national rate of 6.7%.

Arizona’s personal income growth hit the brakes in the third quarter, reflecting the timing of fiscal stimulus from the CARES Act. The massive economic impact payments (one-time Recovery Rebates) occurred in the second quarter.

As Exhibit 2 shows, Arizona’s personal income declined at an annual rate of 8.6% from the second quarter to the third. Even so, that was better than the U.S. and many states. (Release available here). https://www.bea.gov/data/income-saving/personal-income-by-state

Exhibit 2: U.S. Personal Income Growth by State, Annualized Percent Change from the Second Quarter of 2020 to the Third Quarter

Arizona’s personal income rose 9.7% over the year in the third quarter, down from a revised increase of 13.4% in the second quarter. U.S. personal income rose by 7.1% over the year in the third quarter.

As with the second quarter, transfer receipts rose significantly over the year in the third quarter, with a 35.4% gain. That followed a 67.1% increase in the second quarter. The increase in transfer receipts over the year, driven primarily by the CARES Act, accounted for 72.3% of the overall increase in personal income over the year in the third quarter.

Net earnings by place of residence rose by 5.2% over the year in the third quarter, up from 0.4% in the second quarter. Net earnings accounted for 32.3% of the over-the-year increase in personal income in the third quarter.

Income from dividends, interest, and rent fell by 2.3% over the year in the third quarter, which followed a 1.2% decline in the second quarter.

The Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity has released population estimates for July 1, 2020. The estimate that Arizona’s population was 7,294,587, up by 105,567 from July 1, 2019. That translated into a 1.5% increase, down slightly from 2019 growth of 1.6%. Phoenix MSA population was estimated at 4,907,152 on July 1, 2020, up 84,107 from last year (+1.7%). Tucson MSA population was estimated at 1,052,375 on July 1, 2020 a 0.7% increase from last year (+7,700).

Curtis Holbrook joins SLC as Senior Superintendent, Ground-Up Construction Division

PHOENIX, Arizona – Phoenix-based Stevens-Leinweber Construction (SLC) has hired industry veteran Curtis Holbrook, marking the latest expansion of the company’s rapidly growing ground-up construction division.

Holbrook brings more than two decades of experience to his new role, where he will oversee key ground-up industrial projects for SLC and contribute to the overall growth of the company’s ground-up division with expertise in healthcare, office, retail and hospitality construction.

“Curtis is a well-rounded leader with a proven ability to manage and deliver the highest quality construction experience,” said SLC President and CEO Jamie Godwin. “He is also greatly respected and trusted – attributes that we place a high value on, and that will pave the way for his seamless transition into our job pipeline. We are excited for the new opportunities that Curtis brings for the growth and diversity of our ground-up division.”

Since its inception in 2017, SLC’s ground-up construction division has delivered more than 3.5 million square feet of space, most recently through buildings at PV303 and Tolleson Commerce Park, the new Chandler Corporate Center II office development and tenant improvements for Ball, Boeing, Georgia Pacific, HD Supply, MLILY, MiTek and XPO. This activity complements the company’s market-leading footprint in the office tenant improvement sector.

Holbrook joins SLC from more than 20 years at Layton Construction Co. Across his career, he has directed a range of landmark projects including the $250 million White Claw manufacturing center in Glendale, Arizona, the new 644,000-square-foot Ferrero USA warehouse project in Goodyear, Arizona, the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona, the Las Tiendas Village retail development in Chandler, Arizona, and the luxury Montage Deer Valley resort in Park City, Utah.

Holbrook is OSHA 30 certified, a Certified Healthcare Constructor (CHC) with the American Hospital Association and member of the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE).

Tucson, AZ – Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (TMA) celebrates a century of American Realism in The Wyeths: Three Generations | Works from the Bank of America Collection. The exhibition is scheduled to open on January 21, 2021 and run through May 9, 2021.

For three generations, the Wyeths have created art that captures the imagination and admiration of a wide audience. This exhibition presents more than sixty paintings, drawings and illustrations by N.C. (Newell Convers) Wyeth, his son Andrew Wyeth and his grandson Jamie Wyeth. The works span most of the 20th century in American Realism, revealing the breadth of the Wyeth family’s creative output, and illuminate both common themes within the works and the artists’ individual styles.

“This collection not only shows the skills of these artists as individuals but further exemplifies them as one of America’s foremost artistic families,” said Christine Brindza, Glasser Curator of Art of the American West and the lead curator for the exhibition. “Visitors to the exhibition will discover the remarkable range of subjects, styles and technical abilities of this family as well as their unique visions of American life.”

• N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) has long been considered one of the nation’s leading illustrators. In the early 1900s, he studied with illustrator Howard Pyle in Delaware. In 1911, he built a house and studio in nearby Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Later, he shared the studio with his daughters and his son Andrew. The exhibition includes illustrations for books by Robert Louis Stevenson and Washington Irving as well as historical scenes, seascapes and landscapes.
• Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) remains one of the United States’ most popular artists, and his paintings follow the American Realist tradition, which includes Winslow Homer. He was influenced by the works of Homer, whose watercolor technique he admired, as well as by the art of his father and Howard Pyle. While Andrew painted recognizable images, his use of line and space often imbue his works with an underlying abstract quality. The exhibition includes important works from the 1970s and 1980s as well as more recent paintings.
• Jamie Wyeth (b.1946), like his father and grandfather, has painted subjects of everyday life, in particular the landscape, animals and people of Pennsylvania and Maine. In contrast to his father—who painted with watercolor, drybrush and tempera—Jamie works in oil and mixed media, creating lush, painterly surfaces. Eighteen paintings represent all periods of his career.

“We’re excited for the Tucson community to experience the legacy of this illustrious artistic family and are grateful to Bank of America for making it possible by lending this collection,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, Jon and Linda Ender Director and CEO of Tucson Museum of Art. “The Wyeths demonstrate a legacy of narrative sensibility in their artworks, and the stories they tell range from whimsical to profound, from the shared experiences of a nation to deeply personal reflections.”

The Wyeths: Three Generations | Works from the Bank of America Collection comes to TMA through Bank of America’s Art in Our Communities® program, which has loaned exhibitions to more than 140 museums worldwide since 2009. Bank of America also sponsors Museums on Us®, which provides free access to Bank of America credit card holders over the first full weekend of every month at TMA.

“We recognize that the arts are a cultural and economic driver within our local community,” said Adriana Kong Romero, Tucson Market President, Bank of America. “We are excited to loan this incredible exhibition to the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block as part of our Art in our Communities® program that loans exhibitions at no cost to nonprofit community museums across the country. Tucson has a tremendous arts and culture landscape that we encourage everyone to experience.“

The exhibition will be supported by a series of public programs. Details will be available on TMA’s website as they become available: TucsonMuseumofArt.org/events.

This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities ® program

About Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block

Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (TMA) connects art to life through meaningful and engaging experiences that inspire discovery, spark creativity and promote cultural understanding. Founded in 1924, TMA encompasses an entire city block in historic downtown Tucson and is committed to developing quality exhibitions, expanding and diversifying its collection and presenting relevant and innovative programs while broadening public access to the arts.

The museum features exhibitions of Modern and Contemporary art, Latin American art from ancient to today, Indigenous arts and Art of the American West. A permanent collection of over 12,000 works of art spans continents, centuries and media. TMA’s campus includes five properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an art education center and research library, the Museum Store and the highly acclaimed museum restaurant Café a la C’Art.

TMA is a private 501(c)(3) charitable arts and education organization. The Museum is open Thursday – Sunday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm; tickets can be ordered online; for additional information visit TucsonMuseumofArt.org or call (520) 624-2333.

The 2020-2021 Exhibition Season at TMA is presented by James and Louise Glasser.

With support from the following season sponsors: Fran and Jim Allen, Alice and Paul Baker, Mary Jo Brown, Connie Hillman Family Foundation, I. Michael and Beth Kasser, Anne and Ed Lyman, Jeanne Pickering and Mike Andrew, TMA League, Contemporary Art Society, Latin American Art Patrons and Western Art Patrons.

As an institution built upon the original territories of the O’odham, the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block acknowledges the Indigenous Sonoran Desert communities, past and present, who have stewarded this region throughout generations.