Tucson Opinion: COVID's effects may linger in Tucson, but there are remedies

The side effects as a result of COVID-19 could be as potentially harmful to the economic health and well-being of the city of Tucson as the virus is to our bodies. Tucson has all the symptoms of a city at high risk for economic catastrophe as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re not convinced just look at some of the numbers that set up this possible crisis.

One of the most welcome trends during this pandemic has been the widespread movement to work-from-home or remote employment. This has been a boon for some but not all households because many of these jobs require specific training, higher education attainments, or other prerequisites which are typically not the characteristics of those who have been unemployed or underemployed. Some of the hardest-hit industries in the pandemic were leisure and hospitality along with professional and business services.

Those industries account for almost 24% of the jobs in Tucson and have lost a combined 16% of their employment from last year according to the October data from the Bureau of Labor.

In terms of job growth, the city has attempted various measures such as partnerships with the private sector and the creation of incentive programs to attract new businesses into the area, such as recent successes like Caterpillar’s and Amazon’s migrations. However, Tucson is still trailing the pack in most employment statistics. According to the University of Arizona’s MAP dashboard, Tucson is last among peer Metropolitan areas with a business growth of 1.8%, fourth from last in employment growth, and third from last in labor force participation at 81%.

This is simply not good enough for a city the size of Tucson.

Poverty, historically one of the city’s biggest challenges, continues to linger while most of the wealth is flowing to the outskirts. In the city of Tucson’s 2020 Poverty and Stress Report, they cite 2018 census numbers that show 21.9% of all city residents and almost 28% of children under the age of 18 are currently living in poverty. Additionally, let’s consider the 48.1% of Tucson families that earn less than $50,000, which is the approximate annual earnings needed for a single-parent family with one preschooler and school-age child to meet its basic needs at a minimally adequate level without public assistance according to the Self Sufficiency Standard for Arizona.

So, when you are enjoying your holiday season and counting the days till the end of the year, think about all the vulnerable people in your community possibly losing their jobs, running out of unemployment and months behind on rent. Ask yourself if this city is doing all that it should for them. If not, then it is time to act.

We must demand our government do a better job of preparing our children to work in the professional world with expanded vocational school availability. We must also demand that the city solicits more agencies to participate in the Community Workforce Skills Program. We must demand that companies who are benefiting from our community’s tax dollars are also of benefit to us.

We need localized and targeted hiring processes such as HireNYC that ensure that our vulnerable community members get the first look at programs that are benefiting from tax dollars or other city incentives. Realize that you as a member of the community have a voice and can share that voice with our local legislators to try to affect change that will be to the benefit of all in this community.