Arizona’s latest unemployment figures suggest the hospitality industry is leading the way when it comes to adding jobs.
Data from the state Office of Economic Opportunity shows that the number of people working in bars and restaurants last month, not only increased, but did so at a rate six times higher than the economy as a whole.
Doug Walls is research administrator for the agency.
"Leisure and hospitality, year to date, is up 14,200 jobs since January. similar gains for the first quarter in January were right around 9,500," Walls said. "So we've seen about a 4,000 job increase in 2017 as compared to historical periods from 2010 to 2016."
There are now nearly 250,000 people in that sector of the economy, 8 percent more than a year ago. That compares with a 2.5 percent increase in all private sector employment over the past year.
Economists also say concerns by the business community about the negative effects on hiring after raising Arizona’s minimum wage to $10 an hour this year, may be disproven.
The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a point last month, to 5 percent.