State To Add 59,000 Jobs In 2014

By Dennis Lambert
Published: Friday, November 8, 2013 - 9:54am
Updated: Friday, November 8, 2013 - 11:21am
Audio icon Download mp3 (694.81 KB)

A new report from the state said it will take until the end of next year for Arizona to have as many people employed as in 2005.

The state is expected to add 59,000 jobs in 2014, according to economist Aruna Murthy. That is about 2.3 percent growth over this year, which is better than the national average, but Murthy points out fewer than half the 300,000 jobs lost during the recession have been recovered. And, she cannot say if the state will ever need the number of construction workers it employed before the economy went bust.

“Well, it's going to be long,” Murthy said. “Let me tell you that. The population increases have just started happening, and we may not need that many homes as in 2006 when the rate of population growth was significantly steeper.”

Murthy said most of the new jobs will be in metro Phoenix, with four of every five in Maricopa and Pinal counties. Pima County is expected to add 7,800 jobs, with the other 13 counties dividing up the remaining 4,400.