The estimated 2019 labor force for the City of Yuma is 44,100 while the Yuma County total is approximately 97,300. The City’s latest unemployment rate is 12.4 percent (7/19). At the same time, the County’s unemployment rate was pegged at 19.6 percent (not seasonally adjusted). The county’s overall workforce participation rate is approximately 54 percent. 

The City of Yuma labor force by industry is presented in the following table. The data highlight the challenge and opportunity to diversify the labor force by growing the percentage of workers engaged in manufacturing and transportation/communications. The performance of the region’s agricultural sector also suggests that it will gain workers as growing products translate in to other food-related activities such as new product research, processing, packaging, and storage/distribution.

Beyond the economic sectors, the City of Yuma and its local workforce partners such as Arizona Western College, Southwest Technical Education District of Yuma (STEDY), and Arizona@Work recognize the importance of improving the skill set of area workers.

• STEDY - as a career and technology public school district, STEDY works closely with the Arizona Department of Education and any student enrolled in a public, charter, or private school, or is home schooled in Yuma County, can "dual enroll" in a STEDY program.
• ARIZONA@WORK - is the statewide workforce development network working as a public/private partnership to help employers recruit, develop and retain the best employees for their operations. Arizona@Work also assists job seekers pursuing employment opportunities through the provision of customized training, education, and skills development.
• Arizona Western College (AWC) is a key contributor to solving the workforce needs of the Yuma area business community. Workforce Education is an extension of the college. AWC’s Continuing Education program offers workforce and personal enrichment courses in a variety of areas, including business, computers, career and professional training, information technology, professional development, languages, and fitness and health. AWC works closely with Arizona@Work.