Original Article via KTAR News
Arizona has ranked among the top states in the nation for economic momentum, according to a recent economic report.
The Index of State Economic Momentum, which was published by State Policy Reports, found that Arizona ranked as the fifth-best state in the nation in the first quarter of 2018. The state actually showed progress compared to the year before, both overall and in individual sub-categories. The report ranked Arizona as the sixth-best state in the nation in the economic momentum index last year.
In a statement, Gov. Doug Ducey praised the report’s findings and pointed to a myriad of reasons for the state’s success.
“Arizona’s growing economic momentum owes itself to the hard work of entrepreneurs, business owners and their employees across our state,” said Governor Ducey. “We will continue to work to make Arizona the best state in the nation to launch new ideas and start or scale a business.”
The Index of State Economic Momentum ranks states based on their most recent performance in three key areas: Personal income growth, employment growth, and population growth. It is updated each quarter. In the first quarter of 2018, Nevada again ranked as the best state in the nation for economic momentum, while Washington, D.C., most closely approximated the national average economic performance.
Arizona climbed one spot, from 6 to 5, from a year ago in the economic momentum index. Over the same period, Arizona also improved in every sub-category used to develop the score, including:
- Climbing from 6 to 3 in personal income growth;
- Climbing from 10 to 9 in employment growth;
- And climbing from 8 to 6 in population growth.
