Arizona

Report: Latinos are main contributors to Arizona’s growing labor force

Published

2 years ago

January 19, 2024

Report: Latinos are main contributors to Arizona’s growing labor force

Latinos are the main contributors to Arizona’s growing labor force, largely because they tend to be younger and have higher birth rates than the rest of the population, according to a new report.

But because Latinos tend to work in lower-paying jobs and, therefore, on average, earn lower wages than their peers, their economic output lags behind their share of the overall population, the report found.

The report produced by the Latino Donor Collaborative, a nonprofit research group, and Wells Fargo is intended to highlight the economic contributions of Latinos and underscore their potential to help fuel economic growth in the future through investments in education and training.

The report, presented during a symposium of business and community leaders Thursday at the Arizona Public Service headquarters in Phoenix, is also intended to reshape perceptions of Latinos, said Ana Valdez, president and CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative.

The report “empowers Latinos, empowers who we really are, not just the perception, but the reality of who we are, which is that we are driving the economy. We are a gift to this country. We are the hardest working people,” Valdez told participants in a video address from Los Angeles.

What does the data say?

With nearly 1.05 million workers, Latinos make up about 33% of Arizona’s workforce. Between 2011 and 2021, Arizona’s workforce grew by 400,000 workers. Latinos made up 276,000 of the 400,000. That means Latinos represented 68.6% of the state’s overall workforce growth, the report said.

During that same period, Arizona’s labor force grew by 1.4% annually, the report said. But the Latino labor force grew more than twice as fast, at 3.1%, the report said.

“The main message here is that Latinos are a sizable fraction of the labor force, and they are contributing most of the growth in the labor force in the state,” said Jose Jurado, an ASU economist and co-author of the report with ASU economist Dennis Hoffman.

The reason is “Latinos tend to be much younger and have a higher birth rate than their peers, and that is allowing them to fill up positions in the labor force at a time where the population in the U.S. has become stagnant and the birth rate has decreased,” Jurado said.

‘A national economic tidal wave’

Latinos contribute $72.6 billion to Arizona’s economy, which means that about 17.3% of the state’s economic output is due to Latinos, the report said.

That 17.3%, however, lags behind the Latino share of the overall population, Jurado noted in an interview. Latinos make up about 33% of the state’s 7.4 million people.

That is because Latinos, on average, have lower annual incomes due to lower educational attainment, Jurado said.

Latinos also tend to have fewer assets that pay dividends or interest, he said.

“Closing this complex gap requires decisive public action, including narrowing the educational gap among members of this demographic. Even today, a college degree is associated with lifelong income increases,” Jurado said in an email.

The gap underscores the need to invest in Arizona’s Latino labor force to drive the state’s economy in the future, noted Jeffrey Guldner, president and CEO of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., which owns APS.

“What you see is this change in demographics really means investment we need to make to continue to drive our workforce to reflect the communities that we serve,” Guldner said during a panel discussion. “It’s a really important demographic that we need to pay attention to.”

The data shows that Arizona’s economy is being driven by the state’s growing Latino population, the increasing purchasing power of Latinos and the rising numbers of Latinos attaining education and training beyond high school, said Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

Latinos, he said, represent “a national economic tidal wave.”

“My hope is that reports like this get embraced by the broader business and civic community,” Camacho said. “We are one of the states that has this really strong tailwind of really positive demographic change, and that is a small indicator of the broader U.S. picture.”

Reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com.

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Arizona

Idaho 78-58 Northern Arizona (Feb 26, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN

Published

9 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Idaho 78-58 Northern Arizona (Feb 26, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN

MOSCOW, Idaho — — Jackson Rasmussen had 19 points in Idaho’s 78-58 win over Northern Arizona on Thursday.

Rasmussen also had seven rebounds for the Vandals (16-13, 8-8 Big Sky Conference). Isaiah Brickner scored 15 points while shooting 6 of 11 from the field and 2 for 4 from the line. Jack Payne shot 4 for 5 from beyond the arc to finish with 12 points.

Diego Campisano finished with 11 points for the Lumberjacks (10-19, 4-12). Chris Komin added 11 points for Northern Arizona. Karl Markus Poom also had 10 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Arizona

Former Arizona town employee sentenced in COVID-19 relief, embezzlement case

Published

21 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Former Arizona town employee sentenced in COVID-19 relief, embezzlement case

PARKER, AZ (AZFamily) — A former employee of a western Arizona town has learned her fate after being convicted in connection with COVID-19 relief fraud and embezzlement.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Thursday that Jennifer Elizabeth Alcaida, 50, a former office specialist for the Town of Parker, was sentenced by a Mohave County Superior Court judge to three and a half years in prison.

According to court records, between July and Sept. 2021, Alcaida took a total of $173,295.54 by writing unauthorized checks from town accounts, keeping cash she was required to deposit, and making personal purchases on a town-issued credit card.

Records also show she received more than $20,000 from the federal Paycheck Protection Program through the U.S. Small Business Administration after claiming the funds were needed to cover payroll for a personal business that did not exist.

Alcaida pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to felony charges of fraudulent schemes and theft. After her prison term, she will serve seven years of probation and has been ordered to pay $194,128.54 in restitution.

“This case is a clear example of someone who abused the public’s trust for personal gain,” Mayes said in a written statement. “Arizonans deserve to know that those who steal from their communities will be held accountable, and this sentence reflects exactly that.”

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Arizona

Arizona high school banned from playoffs after harassment allegations

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Arizona high school banned from playoffs after harassment allegations

COOLIDGE, AZ (AZFamily) — Student-athletes at an Arizona high school won’t participate in the playoffs following harassment and intimidation allegations during a basketball game last week.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Executive Board, which oversees high school athletics in the state, said it placed the Coolidge High School athletic department on probation Wednesday, effective immediately. That means all the school’s teams cannot participate in the postseason.

“The AIA and its member schools are committed to highest levels of respectful behavior from all of the participants at all AIA events,” the AIA said in an emailed statement.

The postseason ban is in response to a 3A boys basketball game Friday between Chinle High School and Coolidge High School in Coolidge. People who were at the game took to social media to say Chinle players were harassed and had racial slurs yelled at them.

A livestream video of the game shows that, as teams lined up to shake hands, a uniformed officer can be seen holding some people back. One viewer claims someone on the court spat on a Chinle player.

During a meeting between the Coolidge Unified School District and the AIA, the harassment allegations included fans making “inapproproiate use of belts” and officials complained of Coolidge fans used derogatory and racist language.

There were also claims Chinle players feared for their safety so they remained in the locker room after the game and left the building in pairs “due to safety concerns.”

The Chinle Chapter Government of the Navajo Nation passed a resolution Sunday asking the AIA to investigate the game. They said Coolidge players used verbal abuse, threatening gestures and “belligerent disregard” toward the Chinle players.

“This resolution sends a clear message to the Arizona Interscholastic Association that we stand in solidarity with the safety of our students. Our student athletes adhere to the rules of conduct and we will not allow for them to be disrespected and intimidated at an AIA Sanctioned Event,” Shawna Ann Claw, a Chinle Council delegate for the Navajo Nation Council, said on social media.

The chapter urged the AIA to punish those responsible and set strict rules to prevent something like this from happening again.

The AIA said Monday morning that it was aware of the incidents “before, during and after” Friday’s game.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Coolidge officials said they disagreed with characterizations that the end of the game was “out of control” and that anyone’s safety was in jeopardy, saying they “provided clarification during the meeting.”

The school district said it’s asking for another meeting with the AIA executive board and consulting with attorneys about what to do next, including filing an injunction and appealing.

“We believe the ruling is disproportionate to the circumstances and carries substantial consequences for student-athletes who were not involved in the incidents in question,” Coolidge Unified School District Superintendent Dawn Dee Hodge said in a written release.

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