By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) —New federal data show Arizona’s grocery jobs and wages are falling faster than in any other state, as shoppers across the state say they’re changing what they put in their carts.
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“Unaffordable, I think, is the big word. I’ve had to really lower on my grocery spending lately,” said Miles Bolyard, a shopper.
Jobs and wages decline
Federal employment and wage data show Arizona grocery and convenience stores lost more than 2% of their jobs, compared with a nationwide decline of about 0.5%.
Wages fell more than 3% in Arizona, compared with less than 1% nationally.
“We’re working with a whole lot less people in the meat department,” said Benjamin Salazar, a grocery store employee. “But they’re still expecting the same numbers,” Salazar said.
Sales slowdown
The losses come as industry analysts say grocery sales are starting to slow.
“I think it’s a really good indicator of where we’re at in the economy of how much groceries are,” Bolyard said.
Economists point to SNAP changes
Economists say Arizona’s steeper declines warrant attention.
“We did see in Arizona that about 175,000 people lost SNAP. So we believe that there is a correlation here,” said Joseph Palomino, director of the Center for Economic Progress.
Palomino said the concern is what happens when fewer SNAP dollars circulate in the economy.
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“We’ve cut all these people off of SNAP, it lowers their purchasing power. And then that leads to potentially that grocery store having to pull back on wages or employment,” he said.
Sharpest declines in small communities
The sharpest declines are in the state’s small communities.
Santa Cruz County saw grocery employment fall about 19%, while Graham County was down 13%.
In terms of raw job numbers, Maricopa County saw the largest decline, losing 900 grocery jobs.
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