The Tucson area's labor participation rate — workers plus those looking for jobs — has improved but still lags its peer Western metro areas, according to the Making Action Possible Dashboard, a project of the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management.

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Contact senior reporter David Wichner at dwichner@tucson.com or 573-4181. On Twitter: @dwichner. On Facebook: Facebook.com/DailyStarBiz