Wall Street Journal: Phoenix 3rd Among Top 10 Metros as Hot Market for 2020 Job Opportunities

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Community and Economic Development

2/25/2020 4:00:00 PM

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Wall Street Journal: Phoenix 3rd Among Top 10 Metros as Hot Market for 2020 Job Opportunities

<div class="ExternalClassFFA0751D18784C349CCBA7EE02D33C41"><html> <div>The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler is the third-best metropolitan area for jobs in 2020 among the top 10 metro areas in the U.S. Phoenix topped the nation in labor force growth and was third in job growth, according to data from the <a style="background-color:window;font-size:10pt;" href="https://graphics.wsj.com/dynamic-inset-iframer/?url=https://asset.wsj.net/wsjnewsgraphics/dice/hotjobmarkets2020-0ccb788a-6aed-4ef9-a34d-0945575c666a/inset.json&mod=article_inline" target="_blank"><div style="display:inline;">Wall Street Journal and Moody’s Analytics.<br></div></a></div><br><div style="text-align:center;"> <em>By Eric Jay Toll for PHXNewsroom</em> </div> <div> <br> </div> <div>Compared to metro areas with more than 1 million population, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler ranked 14th overall, a rise of two positions from 2019. The 4.3 percent unemployment rate, 51st in the nation, and 64.5 percent labor participation rate, 31st in the nation, were a drag on overall rankings.<br></div> <div> <br> </div> <div>The Journal used average data from 2019 and 2018 for comparison. Those numbers don’t reflect Phoenix’s strong economic growth trend across all 2019. Going under the Journal’s hood for a deeper look at the numbers shows Phoenix as a strong metro for job hunters.</div> <div>The Journal ranks Austin and Nashville as the top two metro areas for jobs, but in 2019, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/lau/tables.htm" target="_blank">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</a> reported Davidson County, Tennessee only added 15,250 jobs, Travis County, Texas, added 19,800. Maricopa County added a nation-leading 90,000 new jobs for the year. </div> <div> <br> </div> <div>The Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro ranked third in the nation with nearly 96,000 jobs added, gaining 4.1 percent, according to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/metro.htm" target="_blank">BLS December 2019 data</a>. Phoenix ranked behind Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD (111,916, 3.4%) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (109,674, 2.9%). Austin came in at 23rd with 33,516 jobs, a gain of 2.9 percent over 2018, and Nashville added 40,246 new jobs, a gain of 3.9 percent.<br></div><div><br></div> <div>Phoenix’s 4.1 percent job growth was the second-largest percentage increase in new jobs among America’s largest metro areas, according to the BLS data. Seattle, with 4.4 percent, was first.</div> <div> <br> </div> <div>The Journal reports average wage growth as 3.3 percent as of June 2019 compared to June 2018. At the end of September (most current data), BLS says that wages were up 4.5 percent in the metro. That growth topped the charts among the top 10 metro areas and ranked 12th among the top 25 markets. The BLS says that Phoenix's financial service and financial technology jobs saw wages climb 9.5 percent, which was the second-highest in the U.S. for the industry sector.</div> <div> <br> </div> <div>In December 2019, Phoenix had a 3.7 percent unemployment rate, which would have placed the metro area at 12th among the same group of markets. In the Journal rankings, Phoenix’s unemployment rate shows as 4.3 percent, ranking 51st among metro areas with more than 1 million population. </div> <div> <br> <p style="text-align:center;"><strong style="font-size:17.3333px;">Number of Jobs Gained, December 2019 over 2018</strong></p><table class="ms-rteTable-default" width="100%" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>Rank</strong></td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>State and area</strong></td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong> </strong><strong>Jobs Gained </strong></td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>% Chg</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">1</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Washington-Arlington-Alexandria</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">111,916 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">3.4%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">2</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">109,674 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">2.9%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>3</strong></td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale</strong></td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong> </strong><strong>95,569 </strong></td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>4.1%</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">4</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 89,688 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">4.4%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">5</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 73,224 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">2.4%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">6</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 72,487 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">2.2%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">7</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Baltimore-Columbia-Towson</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 59,960 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">4.2%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">8</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 59,521 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">0.9%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">9</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 56,377 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">1.9%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">10</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">New York-Newark-Jersey City</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 55,585 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">0.6%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">11</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 48,297 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">1.6%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">12</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Denver-Aurora-Lakewood</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 47,282 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">3.0%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">13</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 44,797 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">3.4%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">14</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 41,833 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">3.9%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">15</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 40,770 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">3.2%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">16</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 40,246 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">3.9%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">17</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Cincinnati</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 35,552 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">3.3%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">18</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Boston-Cambridge-Nashua</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 34,620 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">1.3%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">19</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 34,614 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">2.3%</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">20</td><td style="width:45%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Austin-Round Rock</td><td style="width:20%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"> 33,516 </td><td style="width:15%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">2.9%</td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</em><br></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong style="font-size:17.3333px;">Wall Street Journal Best Metros for Jobs in 2020</strong></p><p>How the Top Metros and Phoenix Rank</p><table class="ms-rteTable-default" width="100%" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>RANK</strong></td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>AREA </strong>(Numbers in parens are rank among metros of 1M+ population, metro rank)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">1</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (9, 4)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">2</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (12, 10)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>3</strong></td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default"><strong>Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ (14, 11)</strong></td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">4</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL (15, 7)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">5</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (5, 5)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">6</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (9, 9)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">7</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (6, 6)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">8</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (38. 8)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">9</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (45, 3)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">10</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (46, 2)</td></tr><tr><td style="width:10%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">11</td><td style="width:90%;" class="ms-rteTable-default">New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (47, 1)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>Source: Wall Street Journal</em></p><p><em>Image caption: </em>Chart shows the number of net new jobs by metro area, December 2019 over December 2018. Credit: City of Phoenix, BLS Data<br></p></div><p>Read more at <a href="https://graphics.wsj.com/dynamic-inset-iframer/?url=https://asset.wsj.net/wsjnewsgraphics/dice/hotjobmarkets2020-0ccb788a-6aed-4ef9-a34d-0945575c666a/inset.json&mod=article_inline" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a><br> </p> </html></div>

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For more information, visit <a href="/waterservices" target="_blank"><strong>phoenix.gov/water.</strong></a><br></p> <p>Media Contacts:<br></p> <p>Michael Gertzman<br><span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">Sr. Public Information Officer<br></span><span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">Water Services<br></span><span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">602-534-1209 <br></span><span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;"><a href="mailto:michael.gertzman@phoenix.gov" target="_blank"><strong>michael.gertzman@phoenix.gov</strong></a></span></p> <p></p> <p>Jimena Garrison<br><span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">Public Information Officer<br></span><span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">Water Services<br></span><span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">480-390-1933<br></span><span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;"><a href="mailto:jimena.garrison@phoenix.gov" target="_blank"><strong>jimena.garrison@phoenix.gov</strong></a></span></p> <p></p> </html></div>	https://www.phoenix.gov/citymanager	News
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