AZ Big Media – Why Arizona is Recovering Jobs Lost During the Pandemic Faster Than Most
Arizona has recovered nearly all of the jobs lost during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some parts of the state, specifically the Phoenix area and Pinal County exurbs, recorded 297,000 more employees than they had last April.
For the second month in a row, Arizona leads the nation in small business job creation according to the Small Business Jobs Index from Paychex and IHS Markit. In February, Gov. Doug Ducey set a goal of adding 325,000 jobs to the economy within the year, which Arizona has already surpassed. Of the 331,500 jobs shed during the pandemic since April 2020, Arizona has recovered 94% of them.
The number of Arizonans relying on unemployment benefits has also dropped from nearly 200,000 to only 30,000 according to Jim Rounds, an Arizona economist.
