The state's jobless rate rose to 4.3% in March, up 0.2 points from the end of February. The rate in Phoenix also rose during March, increasing 0.2 points to hit 3.2%. The Phoenix unemployment rate has been on a sharp increase since hitting a low of 2.4% in December.

The national unemployment rate was 4.3% at the end of March, an increase of a 0.1 point.

For several years, Arizona has maintained an unemployment rate below the national average. Phoenix's jobless rate had been below 3% for more than a year.

Job creation in Arizona has dropped to about half the rate seen a year ago, says Dan Anderson, research administrator of the state Department of Economic Security. The slowdown experienced in the manufacturing sector that began at the end of last year, is now affecting the retail and service sectors. Unlike past economic downturns, construction jobs are not the ones falling off more than others. In fact, the construction industry is helping the job rate by adding more than 400 new construction jobs in March.

For all the bleak news of layoffs and downturns, Anderson says, the unemployment rate remains comparable to what was seen in recent periods that were considered "boom" eras.