Arizona’s unemployment rate dropped slightly last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, but economist Aruna Murthy of the Department of Administration said a separate survey of employers shows the number of people actually working in the private sector last month declined by 800 from the month before.

Murthy said the declines were in several areas of the economy, including construction and retail trade, with little strong growth elsewhere.

“People are struggling,” Murthy said. “I mean, there are people — I’ve been reading recently stories on young kids are being unable to get out of their family homes and multiple people living under the same roof because they're unable to find a full-time job or they're holding multiple jobs just to pay their bills.”

Murthy said some of the job declines were expected, like the seasonal downturn in the leisure and hospitality industry, but she said the health care and financial services sectors seem to be doing well and added jobs last month.