Arizona, U.S. in economic stalemate

Hopes for a stronger economic recovery remain hampered by a stubbornly high unemployment rate, which stayed stuck at 9.5 percent in July.

Big businesses are reluctant to hire until they see consumers spend more, even though many firms are profitable and are sitting on billions of dollars of cash.

Small businesses remain hamstrung by economic uncertainty and, often, lack of credit.

Consumers remain reluctant to spend freely because they worry about their jobs.