The Arizona economy is off to a good start this year. According to numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Monday, Arizona had the third largest job growth so far this year.
The state added 8,600 jobs from December 2013 to January 2014, the report said. Only Texas and Ohio had larger growth, which added 33,900 and 16,700 jobs respectfully.
Arizona continues to be a place where tech jobs can grow. Large tech companies like Apple, GoDaddy and State Farm are bringing tech and IT jobs to the state. The announcement of Phoenix being a candidate for Google Fiber adds to the tech friendly atmosphere of Arizona.
Greater Phoenix Economic Council president Barry Broome said the information, communication and technology sectors are pushing Arizona’s job growth. He mentioned the expansion of companies like GM, GoDaddy, Cox and Infusionsoft to help add these types of jobs and he plans on the jobs to keep coming.
“We expect to lead the nation in job growth the next three years,” Broome said.
He said when a lot of people think of Phoenix, they think of the weather, shopping and golf, but they do not realize Arizona is one of the top markets for industries like electronics, aerospace defense, renewable goods and information technologies.
“We feel we are just behind San Francisco and Boston in software development and information and communication technology capabilities,” Broome said. The BLS numbers from this week are starting to show the rest of the country what is happening in Arizona, he said.
“Over the last five years, Arizona has developed one of the most robust technology entrepreneurial ecosystems in the country,” said Steven Zylstra, President & CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. “The universities and municipalities are more engaged and are offering entrepreneurs increased support along with the dozens of independent incubators and accelerators that have sprung up.”
Zylstra believes that the combined effort to make the media and public officials aware of the Arizona tech community, has help make the tech sector a significant contributor to the state’s economic growth.
