The portion of Arizonans living in poverty hit 19 percent last year, the sixth-highest rate in the nation, according to new data from the Census Bureau.

State revenue collections are slightly off in August, the state’s budget analysts reported today.

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee said revenues dropped by $3.3 million compared to the same time last year.

It’s only the second time since July last year that monthly revenues have declined.

When unemployment in Yuma ballooned to 22.9 percent in 2009, people were streaming in the other direction. From 2000 to 2010, Yuma’s population surged more than 20 percent, even as the jobless rate continued to climb.

Arizona bounced back in just one year from one of the worst budget shortfalls in the nation to build a budget surplus comparable to most other states, according to a national report released Tuesday.

While Arizona’s legendary 5 Cs together claim a smaller piece of the state’s economic pie, their historical significance remains.

Arizona’s post-recession budget situation continues to improve as the state begins a new fiscal year in better shape than had been expected.

The legislative budget staff says tax revenue was $145 million more than anticipated during the fiscal year that ended June 30.

Supporters of the Quality Education and Jobs Initiative celebrated on the steps of the Maricopa County Superior Courthouse today, moments after Judge Robert Oberbillig overturned the Secretary of States’ decision that more than 290,000 of the group’s petition signatures were invalid due to a paperwork error.

Arizona could lose more than 49,000 jobs if automatic federal budget cuts are allowed to take effect in January, according to a report released Tuesday.

The city of Phoenix is launching a plan to invest up to $50 million in public money with banks and credit unions in the metro area with the goal of providing them with the capital to make loans to businesses and individuals.

WASHINGTON – Arizona got a grade of D for its legal protections for employees who need to take family or medical leave, in a recent national report ranking states on their health leave laws.

But the state was in good company: The report by the National Partnership for Women and Families gave grades of D or F to 34 states for their leave policies for both public- and private-sector workers.