LOCAL JOB GROWTH

Given this:

Arizona home prices drop for the first time in 16 years
Good news for buyers, but costs are expected to inch up within year
By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Tucson, Arizona Published: 08.31.2007
Housing prices in Arizona officially waded into the red last quarter — the first time that has happened in 16 years.
New figures Thursday from the federal Office of Housing Enterprise Oversight show that home values in the state dropped nearly three-tenths of a percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the prior quarter. The last time the state dipped into negative numbers was in 1991.

I was expecting an actual decline in the number of construction jobs. I finally came across an article that discusses what the impact on the housing industry decline will have on jobs in AZ: not that much.

Continuing drop in construction jobs cools state economy
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 09.04.2007

Construction job growth is expected to have the biggest drop among all nonfarm employment categories in 2007, leading a cool down in the state economy.

According to the latest issue of the Arizona Blue Chip Economic Forecast, construction jobs are predicted to drop from an 11.9 percent growth rate in 2006 to 1.1 percent in 2007.