Arizona is a growing state.
With few exceptions, job growth in Arizona has been on a steady rise for more than 30 years. Additionally, the state is starting to see indicators of a changing workforce compared to just 10 years ago.
According to data from the Arizona Commerce Authority, there are 3.15 million non-farm jobs in Arizona as of February.
The state added 78,000 jobs in the past year, a growth rate of 2.6%.
Looking back a decade, jobs have increased by 30%. The only notable decline came during the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, but Arizona recovered earlier than most states.
Today the recovery rate is 105%.
Six job sectors classified by the Labor Department employ the most people in Arizona and they define Arizona’s current economy.
The common thread of these sectors is jobs in service of a growing population.
In the past decade, over 100,000 more HealthCare jobs have been added to company payrolls.
The sectors with job growth over 40,000 are:
- Retail Trade
- Accommodation & Food Services
- Administrative & Waste Services
- Finance & Insurance
Local government, a major employer in the state, is the one sector with total employment of over 150,000 to shed jobs in the past decade.
14,000 fewer people are employed in local government jobs.
Job growth rates paint a different picture.
Arizona is quickly becoming a warehouse and distribution hub. Three of the six subsectors with the highest growth rates in the past 10 years touch the warehouse and commercial construction industries.
Transportation & Warehousing jobs alone have nearly doubled in the past 10 years.
As far as Arizona’s job market may be headed, projections on the AZ Commerce Authority website believe Transportation & Warehouse jobs will grow the most in the next decade, followed by Health Care, Arts, and Entertainment & Recreation.
One thing is clear however, the distribution and warehouse industry is shaping up to be a much bigger slice of Arizona’s economy in the future.
