Some small businesses in Arizona can now request small loans of $50,000 and under, the governor’s office announced last week.
Dubbed the “Arizona Microbusiness Loan Program,” it uses $5 million in funding allocated from the legislature last year to distribute loans using partners financial institutions at the local level. A microbusiness in Arizona is defined as those with five or fewer employees, according to a news release.
Read the full story
A lithium company celebrated the opening of a new research center in Tempe last week.
Arizona Lithium, which is hoping to further the “The Big Sandy” lithium mining project in northwestern Arizona, opened the center intending to research “extraction of lithium” methods for the local deposit as well as the Prairie Project in Canada, according to a news release from the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Read the full story
Arizona State University and Applied Materials, Inc., aided by the Arizona Commerce Authority, formed an alliance to bring more than $270 million to create the Materials-to-Fab Center in the university’s MacroTechnology Works building at ASU Research Park.
The MTF Center will create a world-class shared research, development, and prototyping facility.
Read the full story
Arizona State House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) announced Thursday the formation of the House Committee on International Trade to help improve Arizona’s economic footprint.
“Trade is essential to Arizona’s success,” said Toma. “It fuels our state’s economic growth, generating business and job opportunities – all which is also critical for the prosperity of Arizona families. Our state has tremendous opportunity to grow our trade footprint with international partners, and that is the intention behind this new committee.”
Read the full story
Arizona State Rep. David Cook (R-Globe) recently led a bipartisan team of lawmakers on a trade mission to Brazil to advance Arizona’s position in the global economy and is now sharing legislative goals following the trip.
“I was honored to be joined by such a great group of public servants in a bipartisan trade delegation to Brazil to expand our state’s trade opportunities,” said Cook. “I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues and the great leaders we met to bolster Arizona’s economy.”
Read the full story
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced a $100 million investment in the state’s semiconductor industry, according to a press release from his office.
“Arizona has earned a place as one of the world’s leading destinations for chip design, manufacturing and innovation,” Ducey said in a press release. “With historic opportunities before us, this funding ensures we make the most of this moment and cement our semiconductor leadership for decades to come. My thanks to all our partners in the private sector and higher education for their commitment to expanding our high-tech economy.”
Read the full story
The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) revealed Monday that efforts to work with companies to bring jobs to Arizona have paid off, bringing in the most jobs seen by the organization in a single year.
“For the second year in a row, Arizona economic development efforts broke records. During the 12-month fiscal period that ended June 30, 2022, the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) and local economic development agencies successfully worked with companies that committed to creating a projected 24,186 new Arizona jobs – a single year record. Those companies also committed to investing $10.75 billion in local communities,” according to the ACA.
Read the full story
Arizona’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady, remaining at 3.3% from June 2022 to July 2022. In that stretch, the state’s seasonally adjusted labor force increased by 7,209 individuals (0.2%); plus, Arizona added 18,300 jobs in that span, according to a report from the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Read the full story
The unemployment rate in Arizona continues to decline.
In March 2022, Arizona had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.3%. This was slightly lower than the national unemployment rate at the same time, according to data released by the Arizona Commerce Authority this week.
Read the full story
Arizona’s economic conditions are estimated to attract hundreds of thousands of new workers to the state.
A report from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity indicated the state’s economic growth is expected to outpace the national average.
“The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) is projecting Arizona employment to increase to 3,751,905 jobs in 2030 from 3,030,216 jobs in 2020,” the report said. “This represents growth of 721,689 jobs, or 2.2% annualized growth. By comparison, United States employment is projected to grow by 0.7% annually from 2020 to 2030.”
Read the full story