Debt Consolidation & Arizona Credit Counseling

Current economic conditions and trends in Arizona

The economic recession that started in late 2006 has hit hard Arizona compared to the rest of the country. This state along with Nevada, California and Las Vegas led the nation with pace of job losses and foreclosures with which economist measure the health of economy.

The economy of Arizona recovers only when the national economy recovers because there are no special forces that allow the state to recover on its own. Arizona has a history of thriving from recession but it will depend on how depth the recession is.

Presently Arizona has the weakest labour market compared to any 50 states and is losing jobs at much faster than elsewhere. The state has lost 334,600 jobs of which 100,000 belong to construction and housing industry that was is boom for past few years and it is one that is pulling us down. Arizona must develop skilled labour force and jobs in all industries that are less prone to real estate cycles, that means encourage appropriate funding for education at all levels.

These figures don’t show the actual problems of the state because it does not include workers who are out- migrated, one who is working part time or one who are not seeking jobs right now. To state the situation further, the real estate problems are just starting and Arizona is nearer to double digit unemployment figure.

The reason include the foreclosure rate increased by more than 50 percent as one out of every 25 home are foreclosed in first half of 2009. This is because the reason where the state and nation is going through the economic cycles.

Many economists predict that home prices in Arizona will not stabilize and as a result there will be no job growth in the industry until 2011, when the federal government is going to revise the adjusted rate mortgage interest rates. It has been expected that by 2014, one can see major growth in job creation with unemployment rate dropping back to 6 percent.

It has been reported that for first time in Arizona history, personal income is expected to shrink by 1.5 percent in 2009. This situation is because of the most homes are undervalued where the home owner owe more that what their home worth. Many say that recession has over but we still do not see any recovery because of the depth of the effect. For example: a couple of years ago we were drenching 30 feet in water but now 20 feet in water, but still we are drenching. For this reason we may not see the signs of recovery.

In this aspect, many may question of why the stock market is raising in case of unemployment peaking? It is because the companies are cutting their cost by reducing the staff and inventories to increase their earnings. When the Arizona outlook is questioned, the states budget is in deficit and will continue to deficit at $1.5 to $2 billion a year for more than three to four years from now.