Running employment data on Flagstaff, Arizona, up the flag pole, April 2017

Today we celebrate Flag Day, on which we pay tribute to the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that established June 14 as Flag Day. Flagstaff, Arizona, the county seat for Coconino County, is the second largest U.S. county by area, spanning over 18,000 square miles. Flagstaff derived its name from a flagpole, made from a very tall and large species of pine tree known as Ponderosa Pine, and used to celebrate our nation's centennial in 1876. In April 2017, Flagstaff had 67,100 jobs, or 2.4 percent of total nonfarm employment in Arizona (2,745,800).

In April 2017, government was the largest industry in Flagstaff, with 19,900 jobs, or 30 percent of total nonfarm employment in Flagstaff. The second-largest industry was leisure and hospitality, with 13,900 jobs, or 21 percent of total nonfarm employment.

From April 2016 to April 2017, professional and business services in Flagstaff had the greatest percentage increase in employment, growing 10.0 percent over the year. Employment in this industry grew 10.0 percent over that period. Government (−2.0 percent) and trade, transportation, and utilities (−1.0 percent) had over-the-year decreases in employment.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics (State and Metro Area) program and are not seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — April 2017" (HTML) (PDF).