The COVID-19 Pandemic has had an impact on almost every sector of the economy. Measures put in place in March to slow the spread of the virus caused the closure of almost all in-person commerce and substantially decreased consumer spending. At the lowest levels seen to date, the week ending May 15, hiring in Arizona was 43.3% lower than before the crisis, compared to 36.8% for the nation.
As Arizona businesses have begun reopening, hiring has picked up but not evenly across all sectors. The restaurant and hospitality industries have been slower to hire, as other industries have almost reached or exceeded pre-crisis levels. Here are several industries that have bounced back and who are actively hiring for a variety of different roles, including skilled and entry level positions.
As always, if you’re interested in transitioning industries and need help getting started, visit a Goodwill Career Center, MyCareerAdvisor.com, or give us a call at 602-535-4000.
Education and Health Services
Though Arizona’s public schools closed their doors to students on March 16, teachers adapted quickly and brought their curricula to digital classrooms. Likewise, healthcare providers needed to react quickly to changing demand and protocol in handling patients. These shifts have led to a need for new talent in both subsectors and, despite some instability, hiring has mostly returned to levels seen at the beginning of the year.
According to Emsi, as of June 2020, there are more than 4,000 openings in education, which includes teachers and support roles, which might include bus drivers, teacher aides, and administrative positions.
For healthcare industries, the greatest demand is at general hospitals with around 6,000 current openings, which is still lower than it was in January of this year. Psychiatric Hospitals as well as other outpatient care centers and service providers have returned to January levels of hiring with close to 4,000 openings. Positions in Patient Care and Behavioral Health Technicians being in the most demand.
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
At its lowest level since January, the finance, insurance & real estate sector’s hiring in Arizona was almost half of its pre-crisis levels. Since then hiring in many sub sectors has improved with hiring now just slightly lower than January.
Emsi notes that commercial banking makes up the majority of the hiring in this sector. As of June the sector has over 4,000 openings. Credit Analysts/Specialists are most in demand by companies in this industry.
Hiring in investment advising, title insurance, trust activities and other credit industries has increased above January levels, with 807 openings at last count. These cover a variety of positions from administrative assistants and sales to more technical positions such as title officers and financial advisors.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing, one of the pillars of Arizona’s economy, saw a substantial impact on operations due to social distancing measures and supply chain disruptions from the pandemic. At its worst, hiring in this sector was less than half of it’s January levels. Demand for manufacturing labor in Arizona has since matched the national recovery with openings improving to just 17.8% less than before closures of operations.
Avionics, semiconductors and communications equipment, have the largest need for new talent, with over 2,000 jobs currently listed. In demand positions include product assemblers & manufacturing technicians while more experienced candidates can find demand for production & engineering technicians.
Opportunities exist in other manufacturing sectors as well, with over 800 openings in areas that support automotive and aerospace manufacturing, such as tire and structural metal manufacturing along with more than 700 openings in food manufacturing sectors. While hiring is still slightly down in production sectors, there is still plenty of opportunity to find manufacturing employment in Arizona.
Taking Advantage of These Opportunities
The industries and positions above are just the tip of the iceberg for hiring in Arizona, but knowing what opportunities are out there and whether they’re getting easier or more difficult to obtain is the best way to take the next step in your career.
With businesses on the rebound and looking to get back to full speed, there’s no time like the present to resume your job search. Log on to MyCareerAdvisor.com to polish your resume, view job openings & access training or education resources to put you in the best position to land that job. Get in touch with a Career Navigator today to create your career success plan, access to free training courses or schedule a mock interview to be ready when you get the call!
Author Bio:
Bryan Smith, as the Mission Engagement & Economic Development Manager for Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona, manages the engagement strategy for the Mission Services department with workforce and economic development stakeholders around Arizona including non-profits, government agencies and employers, adapting the provision of Goodwill’s services to the diverse needs of the state’s regional economies.
