State's tax climate gets a B.
Arizona’s manufacturing health earned a C in the new Manufacturing and Logistics National Report. The state’s manufacturing industry, which makes up nearly 6 percent of its economy, has earned a C for the past five years.
Neighboring California and Utah also earned C’s, while New Mexico was rated an F.
The study looked at three factors—the share of total income earned by manufacturing employees, the wage premium paid to manufacturing workers relative to other states, and the share of manufacturing employment per capita. The study was sponsored by Conexus Indiana and produced by Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research.
In good news for Arizona’s small business owners, the state earned a B for its tax climate. The study also says that, nationwide, the manufacturing sector is seeing long-term growth.
“The U.S. manufacturing base is not in decline, and we have recovered from the recession,” said Michael J. Hicks, PhD, an economics professor at Ball State University, in a statement. “Nor are jobs being outsourced because American manufacturing can’t compete internationally. Moreover new jobs in manufacturing pay well above the average wage.”