Less than a year and a half after the initial economic disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arizona has already recovered more than 100 percent of private sector jobs, representing one of the fastest jobs recoveries in the nation.
“The last year and a half have challenged Arizonans like never before,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “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. This isn’t the case for every state, and 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.”
According to the August employment report released today from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, since April 2020, Arizona has recovered 325,500 private sector jobs, representing 101 percent of private sector jobs lost. In comparison, the United States has recovered just 79 percent of private sector jobs.
According to the report, Arizona unemployment fell by nearly 13,000 individuals from July 2021 to August 2021. The Arizona unemployment rate declined from 6.6 percent to 6.2 percent, the largest rate drop of the last twelve months.
When including government jobs, Arizona is 97 percent recovered from the pandemic, the third-fastest total jobs recovery in the nation. Arizona’s labor force also continues its strong recovery. The number of Arizonans either working or looking for work surpassed its pre-pandemic height in March 2021, and has continued to increase every month since. In comparison, the U.S. labor force remains more than 3 million people below pre-pandemic levels.
A new report this month ranks Arizona as the No. 8 state least impacted by ongoing labor shortages.
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