The SEAGO region saw its unemployment rate more than double from 4.8 percent in 2007 to 10.4 percent in the first 9 months of 2010 (seasonally adjusted), according to ADOC figures. Unemployment in the region from January through September 2010 was considerably higher than state and nationwide levels (9.6 and 9.7 percent, respectively).
Cochise County saw its unemployment rate double from 4.2 percent in October and November 2006 to 8.4 percent in March 2010, according to ADOC figures. From March through September 2010, the county‘s monthly unemployment rate fell only slightly to 8.3 percent. Despite the increase in unemployment, Cochise County had the lowest unemployment rate of Arizona‘s 15 counties for most of the economic downturn.
In July 2010, Coconino County, located outside the SEAGO region, overtook Cochise County to achieve the lowest unemployment rate of counties statewide. Although Coconino County‘s monthly unemployment rate was lower than that of Cochise County from July through September 2010, Cochise County continued to have the lowest average monthly unemployment rate of Arizona‘s counties for the period covering the first 9 months of 2010, according to ADOC figures.
Santa Cruz County saw unemployment rise from a low of 6.7 percent in May and June 2007 to a high of 18.6 percent in April 2010, according to ADOC figures. From April through September 2010, Santa Cruz County‘s monthly unemployment rate declined to 15.1 percent.
In the first 9 months of 2010, Santa Cruz County had the second highest average monthly unemployment rate in the state at 16.6 percent. The highest was Yuma County, located outside the SEAGO region, which had an average monthly unemployment rate of 24.8 percent, according to ADOC figures.
Graham County also saw a steady improvement in the employment situation beginning in early 2010, with the unemployment rate dropping from 14.8 percent in February to 12.5 percent in July; however, the seasonally adjusted monthly rate bumped back up to 13.3 percent in September 2010, according to ADOC figures.
In Greenlee County, unemployment showed signs of steady and sustained improvement, with the monthly unemployment rate dropping from 13.9 percent in February 2010 to 9.3 percent in September — lower than the statewide average rate of 9.7 percent and the national rate of 9.6 percent.
The number of unemployed people in the SEAGO region grew from 4,925 in 2005 to 10,625 in the first 9 months of 2010, according to ADOC figures. From January through September 2010, the numbers of unemployed people in Graham and Greenlee counties declined, while the numbers in Cochise and Santa Cruz counties increased, compared to 2009 year-end numbers.
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