Yuma County unemployment rate down compared to same time last year

Yuma County unemployment rate remains stable despite grim statewide forecast from Bureau of Labor Statistics

Arizona saw a rise in its unemployment rate, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting 6.7% for the month of September. This is compared to 5.7% for the month of August.

But in Yuma County, the unemployment rate is actually faring better than the same time last year. That is according to Patrick Goetz, the Interim Operations Director for Arizona @ Work.

"As for the unemployment numbers for Yuma county for the month of September, we're actually 17%, so the numbers for September of 2019 was actually 19.2%. So actually, when you're looking at all the situations we have with the pandemic, we're actually down 2 points compared to last year at the same time probably about 4 to 5 months before the actual pandemic started", said Goetz.

More than 237,000 Arizonans remain unemployed amid the pandemic. Despite the grim forecast statewide, there does appear to be a silver lining on the horizon for Yuma residents.

The county is planning on creating more than 100 new jobs in the coming week, including a new VA hospital and medical mall in nearby San Luis. Arizona @ Work says the recruitment process could begin as early as mid to late November.