Yuma and Imperial County unemployment rates remain highest in the nation

We are now living in one of America’s longest-ever economic expansions on record with national unemployment rates lowering by the day. Yuma and El Centro continue to top every national list of US-Metro areas with the highest unemployment rate at 17.1 and 16.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Historically, the unemployment rate in Yuma County reached a record high of 40% in August of 1994 and a record low of 8.90 in February of 2007.

Representatives of Arizona@Work, a workforce development center in Yuma, say this is because the numbers don’t always mean everything, especially since there are so many factors that lead them to fluctuate so much seasonally.

“Well, it’s a cycle. Yuma County and Imperial County are agricultural counties, so most of the work is seasonal,” said Patrick Goetz, Employment Engagement Officer at Arizona@Work. “In the year of 2018, we had around 8000 agricultural workers file for unemployment. But, the unemployment rate starts to go down when the winter visitors come.”

US metros with the highest unemployment rates, May 2019:

Yuma, AZ 17.1

El Centro, CA 16.4

Visalia, CA 8.1

Merced 7.3

Bakersfield 7.2

Yakima 6.8

Hanford, CA 6.7

Fresno 6.4

Madera, CA 6.2

Longview, WA 6.2

Yuba City, CA 6.2