TUCSON, AZ (June 25, 2026) — Tucson’s job market softened in May, giving back much of April’s payroll gain and underscoring the region’s uneven employment recovery compared with the state and Phoenix metro area.
The Tucson metro area posted 407,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in May 2026, down from a revised 409,300 jobs in April, a decline of approximately 1,900 jobs for the month, according to the latest employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Year over year, Tucson employment was essentially flat, with BLS reporting a 0.0% change from May 2025.
The largest monthly decline came from government employment, which fell from 80,100 jobs in April to 78,500 jobs in May, a drop of about 1,600 jobs. Professional and business services also declined, falling from 49,700 jobs in April to 49,000 in May…