Arizona projected to lead U.S. in future job growth

Forbes Magazine has named Arizona the best state for job growth in 2016. Most of the jobs will come to the Phoenix area.

The magazine in October used forecasts from Moody’s Analytics to call Arizona one of the “brighter spots in a slumbering U.S. economy thanks in part to renewed migration.”

The Moody’s report projected a job growth rate of 3.1 percent through 2019.

Experts said Arizona has become a landing spot for expanding businesses because of its skilled workforce, available real estate and diversified economy.

But Forbes warned that forecasts can change quickly. For example, a blow to a major industry such as tourism could significantly change the state’s prospects, as could competition from other states.

In 2015, Arizona had the 10th-best job growth rate in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Arizona’s neighbors — Utah, California and Nevada — were ranked higher in 2015.

Lee McPheters, an Arizona State University economist, thinks the Forbes ranking may be too optimistic.

“Arizona certainly is going to be one of the stronger growth states. But it’s really not likely that we’re going to be the top growth state in 2016,” McPheters said.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

For now, at least, large companies headquartered in the Midwest and Southeast are expanding in the Phoenix area.

Chicago-based Northern Trust Bank expects to add 1,000 jobs at its new Tempe operating center by 2018.

Home Depot Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, will add about 800 jobs to its Tempe call center in an existing warehouse in 2016.

Dallas-based Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. plans to hire up to 970 employees at a new facility in Mesa.

Companies like General Motors, which opened an IT center in Chandler in September 2014, are bringing higher-wage jobs.

A GM software developer in Chandler makes $77,000 on average, 16 percent more than the average GM salary, and $10,000 more than a typical software developer earns, Career Bliss reports.

GM said the opportunity to hire coders and engineers from universities in the region, including the University of Arizona, helped sway GM officials to move to Arizona. That availability of college graduates also incentivized Home Depot’s expansion.