The Phoenix Metro economy continues steady growth across a wide choice of industries.

In June 2007 the Phoenix economy was ranked number one for Business Recruitment and Attraction in an Expansion Management Study.

National companies continue to locate operations to Metro Phoenix.  Over 150 of the Fortune 500 companies maintain a presence in the Valley of the Sun.

A study by location consulting firm, Boyd Co. of Princeton, New Jersey tanked the Phoenix area 28th out of 30 metro areas in the overall cost of doing business.  New companies are drawn to the valley by the quality of life, cost of living, a skilled workforce, good universities and a favorable business climate.  These factors also encourage workers to relocate to the Valley.

The region has worked hard to attract companies from six main categories; high-technology, bioscience, business services, software, tourism and transportation and distribution.

The Valley of the Sun has long been a center for high tech jobs in semiconductor manufacturing and related fields.  The state ranks fourth in the nation for people employed in computer chip manufacturing.

Health care and the biosciences are both projected to be major players in the continued economic growth of the valley.  The population growth has spurred the building of new Health Care and medical facilities, along with medical schools, throughout the Valley of the Sun.  Hospital expansions alone are expected to add over 70,000 new Health Care jobs over the next few years.

The bioscience industry is heavily research based, but in recent years that research has spun off endeavors for drug and medical product development.  In the last five years that “new spinoff” has added more than 12,000 highly paid jobs to the area, with the total reaching 80,000.

Call Centers are a major Valley enterprise with more that 250 centers employing over 125,000 people.  Among the largest of this group are eTelecare Global Solutions, JP Morgan Chase, The Vanguard Group, USAA, Charles Schwab & Company and Verizon Wireless.

Tourism, including the annual “Snowbird” migration remains a mainstay of the Valley’s economy.  Over 34 million visitors annually contribute 18.6 billion dollars to the state’s economy, supporting 320,000 direct and indirect jobs.  The Valley of the Sun attracts a large share of the tourist dollar.

New and expanding business means increased job opportunities for people relocating to the Valley.  The Metro Phoenix annual non-farm job gain through November of 2007 was 47,289.  The metro Phoenix unemployment rate in November of 2007 was 3.5% comparing favorably with the National rate of 4.7%.

Copper is booming world wide, creating a resurgence in mining throughout Arizona.  With mines reopening throughout the state, including Globe, Miami, Superior and Safford, construction employment in the mining area is expected to rise.  As the metropolitan area supporting these mines, the Valley’s workers in these fields should increase.

Greater Phoenix is among the nation’s fastest-growing regions, consistently recognized for our strong job growth and entrepreneurial environment. The Valley of the Sun strategic Southwest location has made the area a choice business and innovation hub with international access for aerospace, high-tech, bioscience, advanced business and sustainable technologies companies.

The average age of the workforce is 33 and there are 110 languages spoken, the 3rd highest number recorded in any region in the U.S.  The Valley is home to Arizona State University—the nation’s largest university system and largest producer of natural sciences and engineers in the country—and the Maricopa Community Colleges, Arizona’s largest provider of job training.