How Arizona Workers Are Navigating Reopening Economy

By Mark Brodie
Published: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 - 12:04pm
Updated: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 - 1:41pm

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A sign on a Phoenix restaurant advertises open positions
Sky Schaudt/KJZZ
A sign at a Phoenix restaurant advertises open positions in April 2021.

Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order May 3 requiring Arizonans collecting unemployment benefits to be actively looking for work. Last March, the governor had suspended that requirement due to the pandemic.

The new order will take effect the week of May 23, and says residents who want to keep their unemployment benefits have to make at least one job contact per day for four days out of the week, among other requirements. In announcing his decision, the governor cited businesses that were having a hard time filling open jobs, especially in the hospitality and restaurant industries.

To learn how workers have been handling the reopening economy and what this new order might mean for some of them, The Show spoke with Cynthia Zwick, executive director of Wildfire, a nonprofit working to end poverty.

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