This month's MAP Dashboard from the University of Arizona's Economic and Business Research Center shows the Tucson area lags other areas of the West for the ratio of working-age people employed or looking for work.
In 2014, the Tucson Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) ranked ninth out of 12 comparable western MSAs in the labor force participation rate for the working age population (25-54). The labor force participation rate of 80 percent in 2014 was a 2.4 percentage point increase since 2000. The labor force participation rate is an important gauge of the health and potential output of the economy. The labor force includes both employed persons and the unemployed who are actively seeking employment. A higher labor force participation rate indicates that workers believe businesses are hiring for jobs that are worth their time and effort. Given the recent announcements of new companies moving to Tucson we may see Tucsonβs labor force participation rate improve in the future.
