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Arizona ranks 27th in best state for jobs in the nation
Posted
Arizona is paving the way for job growth, but it is still far from being one of the best states for jobs.
With employers expecting to hire 16.6% more graduates from the Class of 2019 than in the previous year, personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on 2019’s Best & Worst States for Jobs.
Arizona is No. 27 on the list, ranking 18th in job opportunity and 29th in economic environment, the two key dimensions in the report.
Massachusetts tops the list, followed by Washington, Colorado, Vermont and New Hampshire. Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and West Virginia are the worst states for jobs.
WalletHub compared the 50 states across 33 key indicators of job-market strength, opportunity and economic vitality. The data set ranges from employment growth to median annual income to average commute time.
Despite having one of the top 5 highest unemployment rates, Arizona benefits from having the second best job growth in the nation, trailing only Massachusetts.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has identified 20 occupations as having the highest expected growth rate between 2016 and 2026: solar photovoltaic installers, wind turbine service technicians, home health aides, personal care aides, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, statisticians, physical therapist assistants, software developers (applications), mathematicians, physical therapist aides, bicycle repairers, medical assistants, genetic counselors, occupational therapy assistants, information security analysts, physical therapists, operations research analysts, forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists, and massage therapists.
Arizona employees don’t have too worry as much about “robots” taking over their jobs, as the state’s automation risk is the eighth lowest in the U.S.
Arizonans also have the best job security in the nation, and are top 10 in employment outlook, share of engaged workers, and share of workers with multiple jobs — meaning most people aren’t having to look for side gigs to support themselves or their families.
Matthew Bluem, program director of human resource management at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, told WalletHub the jobs most likely to be threatened by increasing automation are routine, task-oriented positions like food preparation, manufacturing, and entry-level office administration. The least threatened jobs are those requiring significant training, a certain technical expertise, or a high degree of interpersonal communication skill, like nursing and personal care, financial services, and education and training.
“We have seen several years of employment growth now and there don’t appear to be many indicators showing that this growth will decline anytime soon,” he stated.Arizona’s downfalls in WalletHub’s report include bottom 15 rankings in median annual income, share of workers living in poverty, employee benefits, job satisfaction, and underemployment rate.
One area getting extra help in employment growth is public safety.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety went on a Twitter-binge of sorts in highlighting the benefits of the state’s new $11.8 billion budget, which Gov. Doug Ducey approved Friday.
“With growing population and freeway expansions across the state of Arizona, the demand for new troopers to patrol those areas has increased,” DPS stated.
The agency will have $21.5 million to support current state troopers and $11 million to hire 48 new troopers. Arizona is providing DPS $271,000 to go towards a multi-agency Sierra Vista Safety Communications Center, which will allow first responders in that area to work collaboratively to protect and serve their southern communities. Some $4 million is also available to replace aging patrol vehicles int he DPS fleet.
In addition, $40.6 million is going to pay increases for correctional officers at Arizona state prisons.
In an effort to recruit new officers, the Kingman Police Department is partnering with New Zealand Police on a new marketing campaign aimed at attracting young talent.
An official unveiling of campaign artwork takes place at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Kingman City Council Chambers. Kingman police reached out to their New Zealand counterparts in January after seeing proven results of that country’s campaign and strategies geared towards recruiting younger people into a law enforcement career.
“It’s a new era, and to reach the younger people to join law enforcement has been a struggle, not only for rural Arizona, but internationally,” Kingman police Chief Robert DeVries stated. “We needed a better way to showcase Kingman as great, diverse community to be in, and to be part of the local law enforcement of this community.”
