Of the states hardest hit by the housing bubble, Arizona’s unemployment rate is by far the lowest.  Historically Arizona has always benefited from a lower than average unemployment rate compared to the rest of the country.  When looking at the last 10 years statistics we had several years of 3-4% unemployment and average about 5%.  Yes, we are currently at a a decade high of 7.1% but that is still below the National average of 7.6% (Jan 2009), even though Arizona had the largest drop in home values in the nation for 2008 at 34%.  Think about it, with THE LARGEST DECLINE of home values in the nation wouldn’t one expect our unemployment rate to be much higher?