Arizona's unemployment number defies national trend and stays low

• Meanwhile, the national rate has climbed most of this year, sitting at 4.3% in July.

Zoom in: ASU economics professor Dennis Hoffman told us Phoenix's labor market has significantly benefited from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and other related projects supported by the federal CHIPS Act.

• "If Arizona continues to stay below the national unemployment rate it wouldn't surprise me in the least," he said, noting that several thousand new semiconductor jobs have already been announced.

Reality check: Hoffman also said that just because the national unemployment rate has ticked up does not mean the U.S. economy is faltering.

• He noted the increase is a consequence of more people actively looking for jobs, not the byproduct of widespread layoffs.

What we're watching: Intel, one of the state's largest employers, announced last week it will cut 15% of its global workforce this year. The company has not yet confirmed whether any local jobs will be impacted.