High unemployment in Yuma not affecting Arizona

Yuma has the highest jobless rate in the nation, but that is not affecting the rest of Arizona.

The Labor Department said Yuma’s unemployment rate in October was almost 30 percent.

Valley economist Elliott Pollack said Yuma’s joblessness is mostly due to agriculture. Even when the rest of the state’s economy was booming in 2006, Yuma unemployment stayed around 14 percent, but there was effect on the state then, nor is there now.

The Valley’s jobless rate is hovering around 7 percent. Arizona unemployment continues to be about 8 percent. The state’s jobless rate hasn’t dropped below 8 percent since December 2008.

Arizona lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the recession and Pollack said we should be back up to pre-recession employment numbers by 2015.

“Three years ago we were 49th in the nation in job growth. Today we’re number 6.”