More jobs are helping to drive down the state unemployment rate. But one Arizona metropolitan area landed in the number two spot for most people in the unemployment line.
18 percent of Yuma's workforce is out of a job. The only area in the nation that is worse is El Centro, California with 19.6% unemployed according to a recent Forbes article. The silver lining? Yuma held the title for the worst rate just a year prior.
The state as a whole saw job growth from year to year, according to the latest employment report from the AZ Department of Administration. Employment grew by 2.5% or 65,700 jobs over the year in December.
The private sector was the big job driver, accounting for the majority of the gains. The top three sectors: professional and business services, education and health services and leisure and hospitality. Leisure and hospitality is no surprise, considering the numbers were compiled right before tourism season.
The unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in December, that's slightly higher than the national rate of 5 percent, but down from the same time the year prior when it was 6 percent.
See the map below for unemployment rates by county.
