Diversification and growth are two words immediately associated with Phoenix's
economy. It is an economy thriving on industries that include aerospace and
electronics manufacturing, business services, finance, wholesale distribution,
travel and tourism. As both the capital of Arizona and the seat of Maricopa
County, Phoenix benefits from the area's many government agencies, another
added dimension to the level of professional and legal services (and opportunities)
available.
Service industries (including tourism and businesses services) and trade
account for almost 77 percent of the labor force in the Phoenix area, and
are projected to continue to be the largest source of employment growth for
the next few years. Phoenix's state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure
and direct-link satellite communications have made the city an appealing location
for telecommunication operations. Investment firms, credit card companies,
banks and customer service centers are among the many companies taking advantage
of the metro area's talented, educated workforce. Some of the large processing
and/or regional headquarters operations include USAA, American Express, Chase
Bank, Bank of America, Discover Card Services and Wells Fargo Bank.
The high technology and aerospace industries also have a strong presence
in Phoenix. High-tech companies alone employ 56 percent of all manufacturing
jobs statewide. Honeywell is the region's largest private employer, with nearly
12,000 workers. Other similar-type employers include Intel, Avnet, Honeywell,
Bull Worldwide Information Systems, AT&T, Sumitomo Sitix Corp., STMicroelectronics
and Boeing Helicopter Company.
Phoenix has a strong health services industry with 20 major hospitals including
a premier research hospital owned by The Mayo Clinic. There are several small
pharmaceutical companies in Phoenix plus several manufacturers of neutraceutical
products. Several new research centers, including the Translational Genomics
Research Institute (TGEN) in downtown Phoenix and the Arizona Biodesign Institute
(ABI) at ASU, are drawing scientists and biotech companies to Phoenix.
As noted earlier, Phoenix has a significant share of government employees,
for both the metro area and the state of Arizona. More than 197,000 public
sector workers are employed in the greater Phoenix area.
These diverse components of the economic base help insulate Phoenix from
the severe downturns experienced in many communities reliant on a narrower
range of industries. In fact, Phoenix has experienced negative or zero employment
growth in only four of the last 54 years.
Industry Sectors
