New Report Shows Arizona Led The U.S. In Monthly Job Growth For April

New Report Shows Arizona Led The U.S. In Monthly Job Growth For April

By Matthew Holloway |

The State of Arizona led the United States in monthly job growth for the month of April according to a report released by the Common Sense Institute of Arizona (CSIAZ) following a three-month period of negative annual growth.

As reported by the CSIAZ, Arizona saw an increase of 14,200 non-farm jobs in the month of April for an increase of 0.44% or a year-over-year increase of 0.76%, ranking the state first in the nation for monthly job growth. Overall, the total job-growth in the U.S. was 0.11%, with eleven states losing jobs. However, despite the job growth, the CSIAZ reported that inflation-adjusted wages have decreased by 4.2% since 2020, and total employment remains over 212,000 jobs under the pre-pandemic trend.

In a posting to X, CSIAZ noted that in the last 12 months, the state gained 24,600 jobs for a 0.76% increase.

According to the report, the job gains haven’t been consistent across various industries, with clear winners and losers:

“The state’s fastest growing sector over the past twelve months was Education and Health Services, adding 22,600 jobs (+4.2%). Its slowest growing sector was Professional and Business Services, which lost -4,400 jobs (0.9%). The Education and Health Services sector has steadily grown since 2020 (losing only 48,000 jobs during the pandemic) and is now at its all-time highest level of employment. Professional and Business Services on the other hand peaked in January 2024 but has been declining since.”

Drilling into discrepancies in wages and time worked, Arizona workers experienced a decrease in non-seasonally adjusted wages of -$0.13 during the month of April, placing Arizona far behind the rest of the country’s steady, though anemic, wage growth rate of +$0.06 over the same month. But year-over-year Arizona is continuing to outperform the U.S. average with wage growth of $1.49, up 4.5% annually.

This wage growth, however, has failed to keep up with CPI Inflation as noted earlier, making Arizonans feel a pinch at the register, and as CSIAZ explained, real wages were only up “4.2% year-over-year and after CPI inflation, compared to the April nominal increase of 4.4%.”

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.

Arizona Projected To Add Over 500,000 Jobs By 2029

Arizona Projected To Add Over 500,000 Jobs By 2029

On Thursday, the Governor’s Office announced that Arizona will add more than half a million jobs over the next eight years, according to projections from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity.

According to the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), Arizona will add nearly 550,000 jobs by 2029 for an annualized job growth rate of 1.6%, four times the U.S. growth rate. The OEO projections come as Arizona is experiencing an explosion of advanced manufacturing in industries like semiconductors and electric vehicles.

In March, Governor Doug Ducey announced personal income in Arizona rose last year at a rate faster than nearly any state in the country, according to estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. With a personal income growth rate of 8.4%, Arizona tied with Montana for the fastest rate of growth in personal income in 2020.

Last year, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced the addition of 1,600 jobs and construction of a new semiconductor fabrication facility in Phoenix. In March, Intel announced adding 3,000 jobs along with two new semiconductor fabs in Chandler. Intel’s $20 billion investment represents the largest private sector investment in state history.

When it comes to electric vehicles, companies like Lucid, Nikola, ElectraMeccanica, which all have set up manufacturing facilities in the state, are projected to add thousands of jobs in coming years. These announcements mean more jobs for suppliers and support industries as well.

“Arizona has become a jobs magnet,” said Ducey in a press release. “Not only are jobs booming, wages are rising faster at one of the fastest rates in the country. Our recovery is moving forward and there is more opportunity before us than ever before.”