A new economic impact study released by The Western Way examines the creation of new jobs in Arizona from recently announced manufacturing businesses in the clean energy sector. The results of the study shows the importance of Arizona’s private and public sector leaders working together to meet the growing workforce needs and sustain economic investments in Arizona.
The study which is a snapshot of 11 different manufacturing and facility expansion projects in the clean energy sector ranging from EV and battery to solar manufacturing found the following workforce needs and economic benefits:
During the construction phase, the 11 projects are expected to create 87,000 jobs in the construction industry with average salaries of $55,000 per year.
During the operations phase, more than 22,000 jobs are expected to be created with average salaries of $60,000 per year.
The combined total economic impact of these construction jobs ($4.8 billion) and operations jobs ($1.3 billion) will add over $6.1 billon in labor income to the State of Arizona
The Western Way’s Arizona State Director Jaime Molera said, “Thanks to Arizona’s pro-business climate the state is a major destination for clean energy investment. Not only that, these investments are strengthening our economy through job creation and income growth. But to fully capitalize and expand on this trend, Arizona leaders in business and government need to make sure that we have workers with the skills to actually perform these jobs.”
Programs like ElevateEDAZ, from the Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation, are crucial to meeting this growing workforce need. ElevateEDAZ partners with K-12 schools and school districts to build pathways for students to jobs in high-demand industries through career and technical training programs.
The full report, Arizona’s Pro-Business Climate: A Magnet for Clean Energy Investment and Job Creation is available here.