Industrial jobs decline in Arizona
May 5th, 2008, 10:00 am · Post a Comment · posted by Ed Taylor
Industrial employment in Arizona dropped nearly 1 percent during the past 12 months, according to the 2008 Arizona Manufacturers Directory, a compilation of state industry published annually by Manufacturers’ News Inc. of Evanston, Ill.
The directory said Arizona lost 1,670 industrial jobs from March 2007 to March 2008. That was a smaller loss than the 1.1 percent drop MNI reported for Arizona during the prior one-year period and less than the 2 percent industrial job decline posted by the U.S. as a whole during the past year.
“Arizona’s stronghold in the aviation and defense industries have offset some of the losses felt by sectors more vulnerable to outsourcing such as electronics and industrial machinery,” said Thomas Dubin, president of MNI.
Arizona is home to 6.004 manufacturers employing 240,227 workers, the report said. Arizona ranks 28th in the nation in number of manufacturers and 26th in jobs.
In the East Valley, Tempe ranks third in the state behind Phoenix and Tucson with 21,919 industrial workers, up 2.2 percent in the past year. Chandler accounts for 20,318 jobs, down 9.1 percent after job cuts at Intel.
Arizona’s major manufacturing categories are transportation equipment, electronics and fabricated metal products.