Job growth in Tucson remains low compared to state, country

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – In the past year, job growth in Tucson remained slow and lagged behind the rest of the state and country.

“Tucson is adding jobs. We are up about 3,600 jobs over the year through October,” said George Hammond, Eller College of Management Economic and Business Research Director.

This puts Tucson’s job growth at nearly 1%, but it’s well below the state and national average.

“What we’re seeing nationally at 1.7% and statewide and in Phoenix at about 2.2% during the same period,” Hammond said.

Hammond said there are some sectors like healthcare and manufacturing that are adding jobs at a rapid pace.

“I think we’re going to see some nice job gains in manufacturing, which is a very high-paying sector in particular, reflecting the location of the American Battery Factory here in Tucson. So that will help other sectors,” said Hammond.

But sectors like leisure and hospitality are still lagging post-pandemic.

“They’ve made progress in terms of bouncing back, but it’s been an uneven recovery around the state.,” said Hammond. “I think we will eventually get back to pre-pandemic levels in terms of those travel and tourism-type jobs, but we’re just not there yet.”

Then there is the retail sector.

Over the past few months, 13 News has reported on the closure of a number of big box stores from Big Lots to Conns. Hammond added that this will not be a sector that drives job growth in the coming years, but for now, it’s holding a steady pace.

“Even though some stores are closing within that sector, you’ll find some online jobs actually show up. So that sector is doing better than you might think,” said Hammond.

Job growth is predicted to remain steady in Tucson, growing around 1% per year. But Hammond said that could change after the new year when a new administration takes over.

“With all the talk of huge increase and broad-based increases in tariffs and then significant deportations of undocumented immigrants, that has a significant possibility of driving slower growth than that kind of 1% per year growth rate,” said Hammond.

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