TUCSON, ARIZONA (Aug. 4, 2026) — Tucson Unemployment Rate recorded one of the largest year-over-year increases in unemployment among the nation’s major metropolitan areas in June 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Tucson metropolitan area’s unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent in June, up from 4.6 percent in June 2025. The 1.1 percentage point increase was the third largest among the 56 metropolitan areas with populations of at least 1 million, trailing only Hartford, Connecticut, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Phoenix also experienced a notable increase. The Phoenix Mesa Chandler metropolitan area posted a June unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, compared with 4.0 percent one year earlier, an increase of 0.9 percentage points.
Nationally, unemployment rates declined in 27 of the 56 large metropolitan areas, increased in 26 and remained unchanged in three during the year ended June 2026.
Columbus, Ohio, recorded the largest improvement, with its unemployment rate falling 1.2 percentage points to 3.3 percent. Hartford, West Hartford, and East Hartford had the largest increase, rising 1.3 percentage points to 4.9 percent. Tulsa followed with a 1.2-point increase to 4.5 percent.
Among the large metropolitan areas, Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina, and Urban Honolulu recorded the lowest unemployment rates in June at 3.1 percent each. Fresno, California, posted the highest rate at 7.7 percent, followed by Tucson at 5.7 percent.
The Tucson rate was also higher than several other western metropolitan areas, including Las Vegas at 5.2 percent, Los Angeles at 5.0 percent, Phoenix at 4.9 percent, Sacramento at 4.8 percent, San Diego at 4.4 percent, and Denver at 3.9 percent.
The figures are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Metropolitan unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted, and the June 2026 figures are preliminary.
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