KTAR News – Economist Expects Developing Arizona’s Workforce to Cost Initially, But Pay Off
Arizona has become a landing spot for high-tech companies and other businesses, but a Valley economist said the state must continue to develop the workforce and that means pumping more money into education.
“We’re going to need a lot of investment and we’re going to be bringing in more money than we’re spending, which means we can reduce taxes while further investing in education,” Jim Rounds of Tempe-based Rounds Consulting Group told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday.
“We have to have enough workforce to use that as a tool to lure more companies to the state. That’s what we’ve been doing but we need to get workers trained up for these big business locations,” he added.
The state is a magnet for operations such as Taiwan Semiconductor, clean-energy companies, auto manufacturers and expanded health care sector opportunities, among others, he said.
