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

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


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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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

Cardinals Must Make This Offensive Change

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Cardinals Must Make This Offensive Change


The Arizona Cardinals had more than one hole in their offense in 2024.

Plenty has already been made about WR Marvin Harrison Jr.’s underwhelming rookie season, and the overall meager passing results from QB Kyler Murray in offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s scheme.

But one overlooked position on the offense this past season was the role of slot receiver. While starting slot man Greg Dortch has certainly shown plenty of ability in years past, he was only afforded 310 snaps on the year, 206 in the slot itself.

He only had 342 yards to show for it, and 144 of those yards came in the final four weeks of the season.

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Again, this isn’t a total knock on Dortch as a player. He rightfully earned the starting slot role with some excellent performances in very limited action in 2022 and 2023.

But the Cardinals’ utilization of the slot position as a whole was a bit unconventional. Rather than sticking with the speedy, agile Dortch (despite naming him the starter), the Cardinals gave 340 slot snaps to Harrison and Michael Wilson.

Then, there’s the elephant in the room. Star TE Trey McBride took 303 snaps in the slot, as opposed to only 233 as the inline tight end.

I know, I know. If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it. But the truth is, seeing more production out of a true slot receiver could actually help McBride unlock some higher quality looks, especially out of an inline set.

And the inverse is also true. The more snaps McBride gets as an inline tight end, the more opportunity there will likely be for whoever mans the slot position next to him.

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Now, think about what that means. Could it mean a bigger year for Dortch (if Arizona chooses to re-sign him), or whoever they might consider upgrading at the position? Sure.

It also opens opportunities for others.

Wilson and Harrison could see production benefit highly if McBride isn’t the one lining up in the slot every time. For receivers who might have more of an agility-based skillset than a lightning fast one, the middle of the field offers many opportunities, especially if the biggest star on the field is bringing confusion to the coverage.

Again, this doesn’t mean the Cardinals should limit or change McBride’s role, but drawing up more plays for a top-end receiver in the slot can help draw DBs away from the star, or even pull linebackers away on rushing or play-action downs.

While Petzing doesn’t spread his receivers out often, it could be an aspect of his scheme that would help unlock the potential of all involved, or even bring more monstrous numbers to McBride’s resume.

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Arizona could re-sign Dortch, bring in an external option, or simply utilize the slot position more by giving Harrison and Wilson more looks there.

It might not be a point of emphasis, but it can only help expand Arizona’s playbook, and could get more quality looks for their stars, making life easier on Murray in the process as well.



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Failing facilities lead to new investment from Arizona Cardinals

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Failing facilities lead to new investment from Arizona Cardinals


The NFLPA report card may be the best thing that could happen to the Arizona Cardinals.

Sure, it makes it look like the franchise is not run well, but it also is the most public criticism from those within the company we can see.

So, when the grades came out this week, and it was bad, it made sense that the Cardinals dropped their first information on the $100 million plan to upgrade things.

Josh Weinfuss broke it down well:

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– Arizona wasn’t planning on announcing the renovation on Wednesday but the NFLPA’s team report card pushed their hand a bit.

– The Cardinals are still in the very early phases of the project, as in I’ve heard ground hasn’t been broken yet.

– The team is acutely aware of where its deficiencies are: facilities. The grade for its cafeteria dropped from a D to a D-. Its locker room dropped from F to F-. The training room went from a C- to a D-. And the weight room from a C- to a F.

– As one source said to me, so many young players on the Cardinals roster are used to the luxurious facilities they came from in college, where they didn’t have to wait to use a machine in the weight room or could get custom meals.

– One young player last season told me it was “weird” to see the Cardinals’ facilities compared what he had in college.

It goes to something we have been discussing, that this is all reactionary, with little to no vision for the immediate or the future.

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Again, the last update was a $15 million investment in 2015, for a building that was built in 1990.

Even the $100 million earmarked is going to be interesting to see how it is fleshed out.

For instance, are they spending $100 million on the practice facility? Think about the Georgia Bulldogs spending $80 million on their football facility, Oregon spending over $68 million on their facility.

So, will that money be towards the Tempe facility, or also used to create an actual locker room for the home team?

Of course, as we asked yesterday, who will even be around to reap the benefits of the upgrades? 2027 means at the Cardinals normal pace, they’ll have a new coach and a lot of roster turnover.

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Hopefully the one positive on the Cardinals NFLPA grades, Jonathan Gannon is able to continue to be here and will see the improvements.



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FAA investigates after third skydiver dies in 2 months at Arizona facility

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FAA investigates after third skydiver dies in 2 months at Arizona facility


Meet a 102-year-old veteran who went skydiving

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Meet a 102-year-old veteran who went skydiving

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Authorities in Arizona are working with the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate deadly skydiving incidents after three people in two months faced issues while descending into the air.

The most recent skydiving tragedy occurred on Feb. 16 when an unidentified 47-year-old man died at about 2 p.m. near Skydive Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. Witnesses said he was a “very experienced skydiver,” the sheriff’s office said. No foul play is suspected.

A similar incident occurred earlier this month after a 46-year-old man died at the same facility when his parachute did not deploy during a free fall, the Eloy Police Department said in a Facebook post. In January, a 55-year-old woman also died after complications with her parachute at Skydive Arizona. 

A spokesperson for the FAA said the agency’s investigations of skydiving accidents focus on inspecting the packing of the parachute and reserve parachute, and flight rules for the pilot and aircraft. The FAA does not investigate to determine the cause of the event.

The FAA looks into every skydiving mishaps that’s reported to the agency.

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Many skydiving accidents occur because of the jumper, according to the United States Parachute Association. The group says that “oftentimes an experienced skydiver who is pushing the limits — makes an error in judgment while landing a perfectly functioning parachute.”

In 2024, nine people died from a skydiving-related incident across the country, the United States Parachute Association reported.



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