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 Greater Phoenix’s diverse economic base, highly skilled and educated workforce and strong business climate position the area firmly among the most competitive regions in the world.
The Phoenix, AZ area is currently ranked #1 among large metro areas for the largest job growth from November 2005 to November 2006. The Phoenix, Arizona employment region has continually been at the top of the list for cities of its size over the past several years. This growth of Phoenix, Arizona jobs and employment from 2005-06 shows a gain of 90,700 positions, or a 4.9% gain over the same time period one year earlier. Metro Phoenix’s employment and job growth rate of 17.1% ranks 6th among large metro markets over the past 5 years.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security projects an increase of Phoenix, AZ jobs in all 11 major industry groups in 2006-2007, for a total of 256,000 Phoenix jobs added during this period. If MaricopaCounty was separated as a 2nd state, it would rank 5th in the nation for new job creation. The report states that Arizona, like regional areas of the West including Las Vegas, are unique in their job growth rates due to the continuing influx of new residents. During the past 11 of 12 years, 100,000 or more people have moved to the Greater Phoenix area, creating intense demand for new construction and Phoenix employment services. In addition to sheer growth in numbers, the Phoenix area offers a growing variety of occupations, an additional sign of health and vitality for the job market. Traditionally, as high as 1 in 3 jobs in the area were tied to retail, leisure or construction industries. Today, that number has decreased to approximately 1 in 5 jobs tied to those industries, with more and more growth in business investment sectors such as manufacturing, transportation, wholesale trade and business/professional services.
The 10 largest Phoenix, Arizona employers (based on salaries paid and number of employees) in the Metro Phoenix in 2006 were:
1. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (25,969 employees)
2. Banner Health (19,662 employees)
3. Wells Fargo & Co. (11,800. employees)
4. Intel Corp. (10,900 employees)
5. Honeywell International Inc. (10,700 employees)
6. Raytheon Co. (10,641 employees)
7. Bashas’ Supermarkets (9,966 employees)
8. Home Depot Inc. (9,600 employees)
9. Kroger Co. (9,340 employees)
10. JP Morgan Chase & Co. (9,263 employees)
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