Arizona Fully Recovers Pandemic Job Losses

Arizona Fully Recovers Pandemic Job Losses
A Now Hiring sign is seen in this file photo. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The Center Square
9/23/2021
Updated:
9/23/2021

More than 100 percent of private sector jobs in Arizona have been recovered since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the August employment report.

The Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity report showed that Arizona has recovered 325,500 private-sector jobs since April 2020, representing 101 percent of private-sector jobs lost.

Between July and August, Arizona’s unemployment fell by about 13,000 people. The unemployment rate dropped from 6.6 percent to 6.2 percent, marking the largest rate decline of the year.

“The last year and a half have challenged Arizonans like never before,” Gov. Doug Ducey said in a press release last Thursday. “But thanks to the ingenuity and perseverance of our hard-working employees and business community, Arizona’s recovery is in full swing, with a real momentum headed in the right direction.”

The state is 97 percent recovered from the pandemic when government jobs are included. This makes Arizona the state with the third-fastest total jobs recovery in the country. The United States, on the other hand, has recovered 79 percent of private sector jobs.

While the U.S. labor force is still more than 3 million people under pre-pandemic levels, in March, the number of Arizonans working or seeking employment surpassed its pre-pandemic height.

The report ranked Arizona as the eighth least impacted by labor shortages.

“We will continue to work hard to make sure Arizonans have ample opportunity to reenter the workforce, access new skills and get back to work,” Ducey said.

By Elizabeth Troutman
The Center Square was launched in May 2019 to fulfill the need for high-quality statehouse and statewide news across the United States. The focus of our work is state- and local-level government and economic reporting. www.thecentersquare.com
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