Yuma labor force shrinks 6.9% year over year as more residents retire

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The Yuma labor force shrank by 6.9% year over year. Experts say it's because more people are starting to retire.

According to the City of Yuma, the leading demographic of age in Yuma is 65+. The population of retired residents in Yuma makes up between 15 to 19%.

Doug Walls, the Labor Market Information Director, said, "Over the past few months, we've seen some declines in the labor force and that could be for a number of reasons that can be because people are aging out of the labor force. Individuals who are looking for a job and weren't able to find that, became discouraged, and left the labor force."

Arizona is seeing an aging population of individuals 65 and older expecting to retire out of the labor force, which should leave a gap for the new workforce to come in.