Despite President's push for jobs, unemployment likely to remain same

PHOENIX, AZ - President Barack Obama is expected to focus on jobs in his State of the Union Address Tuesday night

But nothing he says will likely change the unemployment problems many states, including Arizona, face, according to one expert.

“There is just so much uncertainty about the economy,” said Dr. John Mathis, professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management.

“Are we recovering? How fast are we recovering?” Mathis said these are questions economists ask themselves.

The evidence is there, but it’s just a trickle, not a big improvement, Mathis added.

Recovery is going to be slow, he said.

As major companies begin to pick up steam, Mathis said, Arizona will likely start to see unemployment numbers get better.

Mathis thinks Obama faces two challenges.

The long term challenge is education, he said.

We are importing the experts that we need in various industries because we don’t educate enough domestically, Mathis said.

Because of a lack in education, there is a higher unemployment rate among young people ages 16 through 19.

In the short term, the unemployment rate won’t see a huge change.

This is a glimmer of hope, as companies are beginning to hire, particularly in the financial services sector.

That will start the liquidity flow to smaller and medium sized companies, Mathis said.