New figures from the state Office of Economic Opportunity put the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July at 4.6 percent. A research professor of economics at ASU’s WP Carey School of Business joined the Show to talk about what the numbers mean, both in Arizona and in a national context.

Apprenticeship programs have been becoming more and more popular. A report finds women make up a tiny percentage of apprentices, and a gender wage gap persists — as it does in the labor force more broadly.

According to the Arizona Commerce Authority, more than 1,200 aerospace companies operate in the state. And as the industry grows, it works on ways to expand and make Mexico one of its prime allies.

Despite the financial problems in Turkey, some analysts worry Italy’s economy could pose the bigger problem for Europe, and beyond. Desmond Lachman is one of those who’s concerned about issues in Italy.

The Trump administration has been criticized by the transit advocacy group Transportation for America for failing to distribute the more than $1 billion dollars appropriated by Congress for transit construction projects.

The federal government approved Arizona’s "opportunity zones" this spring. Opportunity zones allow developers who invest in low-income areas to get tax breaks. But not everyone thinks “o-zones” will have the desired effect of helping to revitalized economically depressed areas.

The Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale was evacuated and closed over the weekend after a monsoon storm knocked out the power. Now, the hotel and casino is staying closed for some more time.

Overall, trends in the nation’s economy are pointing upward. GDP growth is strong, the unemployment rate is low, and wages are rising. But President Trump’s move to start a trade war and apply tariffs on certain goods has a lot of people worried.

A New York based investment firm recently bought half a dozen apartment complexes across the Phoenix Valley.