A recent Wells Fargo Economic Report has good things to say about Arizona’s economy in 2017. Employment expansion, rising home sales, and population growth all bode well for the state in the coming year, despite a slight dropoff in job growth in the second half of 2016.
GDP in the state grew by 2.1 percent in 2016, with an expected growth of 3.6 percent this year, and nonfarm employment rose 2.4 percent, with unemployment falling by 1.1 percentage points to 4.8 percent.
Corporate relocation and expansion is expected to continue into 2017 as a result of Arizona’s friendly tax and regulatory environment, and the diversification of the state’s economic base opens the door for further growth, as Arizona continues to be a hub for next-generation automobile research companies and aerospace manufacturing.
While the report devoted little attention to small business, corporations like Intel, Apple, and Raytheon Missile System are all expected to expand in the state over the next several years, creating thousands of jobs, and increased government spending on defense promises even greater growth for these industries.
Arizona remains a top state for domestic migration, with college graduates and retirees flooding to the state because of employment opportunities and low housing costs.
“Arizona’s economy appears to have had solid momentum going into 2017, as evidenced by the continued slide in the unemployment rate and growing list of corporate relocations and expansions,” finds the study.
