ARIZONA & MEXICO

WORKFORCE TRENDS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
IN THE SOUTHWEST BORDER REGION
By Alex Steenstra, Ph.D., Rosalicia Cordova, D.M., Rakesh Pangasa, Ph.D., and Jeremy Spencer, M.B.A.
Mexico’s population growth rates are slowing down and education levels are rising.
The community across Arizona’s Southwest Border is relatively populous and prosperous.
Binational collaboration between Mexico and the United States includes emergency response
plans, health efforts, economic development, and workforce development.
Educational institutions and economic development agencies from both sides of the border
provide opportunities for workforce and economic development.
Northern Arizona University in Yuma promotes regional economic development, cross-border
education, and workforce development through collaboration with Mexican universities and
incubators across the region through the Business Innovation Accelerator.
Differences in unemployment rates, income levels and education levels together with an
underdeveloped workforce separated by a national border provide both challenges and opportunities
that are being explored by educational institutions and economic development agencies in the border
communities of Arizona and Mexico. This section looks at initiatives to address the challenges in
education, economic, and workforce development in the desert Southwest border region.
SLOWER POPULATION GROWTH AND RISING EDUCATION LEVELS IN MEXICO
The following data for Mexico has implications for workforce and economic development in the region.
In 2014, the annual population growth rate in Mexico was 1.3% compared to 1.6% in 2007 (see Table 1),
continuing a long-term downward trend from 3.15% in 1969. Similarly, birth rates have declined from 45
births per thousand in 1969 to 21 births per thousand in 2006 and 19 births per thousand in 2013. The
25–54 age group is the largest of the population at 40.55%. The next largest is the 0–14 group at 27.59%
followed by the 15–24 group at 17.9%, the 55–64 group at 7.9%, and the 65 and older group at 6.7%.
Table 1: Selected Demographic Data for Mexico
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Population Growth Rate (annual %)* 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.3 NR
Birth Rate (per 1,000 people)* 21 21 21 20 20 20 19 19 NR NR
Secondary Education Enrollment
(Percent of Secondary age
65 66 67 67 67 67 68 NR NR NR
population)*
Labor Force Participation (percent of
population ages 15+)
61 61 61 60 61 60 62 62 62 NR
Purchasing Power Parity 7.186 7.348
Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
7.470 7.430 7.668 7.673 7.859 8.015 7.927 NR
Mexico shows increased participation and completion rates at all levels of education. Enrollment of
secondary school aged children in 2012 was 68% compared to 65% in 2006 1 . The post-secondary
1
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.SEC.NENR
APRIL APRIL 2016 2016 • • ARIZONA TOWN TOWN HALL HALL 108 •• ARIZONA & MEXICO• 38 74