Employment trends on the Colorado Plateau

Source:   Hecox, Walter E. with Bradley L. Ack. 1996. Charting the Colorado Plateau: An Economic and Demographic Exploration, Grand Canyon Trust, Flagstaff, AZ.

With only 15% of the Colorado Plateau in private hands, it is not surprising that one-fifth of all workers find employment with the government. In addition to managing the extensive government landholdings, these personnel provide basic services to dispersed population in sparely populated counties.

The number of new jobs has doubled in the last twenty years, primarily due to increases in population. The region has generally been losing jobs in farming, resource extraction and manufacturing. The new jobs, growing out of increases in recreation, tourism and immigration, are primarily related to construction, retail trade, and services (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Number and type of new businesses on the Colorado Plateau, by Industry: 1970-1990. Adapted from Hecox and Ack, p. 17.

Chronic unemployment and poverty continue to be a fact of life on the Colorado Plateau.The average annual wage for employees on the Plateau remains fairly low, as most of the new retail and service jobs are low-paying (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Average annual wage on the Colorado Plateau, by industry: 1990. Adapted from Hecox & Ack,  p. 18.