KJZZ reporters Devin Browne and Mark Brodie talk about their work covering Arizona’s job market, and ASU economist Lee McPheters talks about what needs to change in the job market to get Arizona on the economic upswing.
McPheters says even in the depths of recession the United States creates four million jobs every month, but the real problem is the rate of job loss. He believes layoffs and reductions may have finally bottomed out, and if so the new goal should be to speed up hiring. McPheters says Arizona has a history of rebounding from recessions rather well. He says it’s also important to emphasize jobs with higher education and higher responsibility, jobs that pay more to boost the economy.