As the economy turns around with the COVID-19 pandemic receding and lockdowns and restrictions fading, some states are recovering better than others. Only Arizona, Texas, Utah, and Idaho, some of the reddest states in the country, have all returned to pre-pandemic job levels.
Timothy Jeffries, owner/CEO of ChemResearch Company, the largest metal finishing provider for aerospace and defense in Arizona, who previously served as director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security under Gov. Doug Ducey, told The Arizona Sun Times, “The Arizona economy continues to economically outpace most every state because the American Dream still matters here. Business innovation and prosperity are supported, protected, and celebrated in Arizona — not demonized as is the case of most every blue state. Governor Ducey and the Republican-controlled House and Senate are worthy of high praise for partnering with the business community where appropriate and staying out of the way of business when optimal.”
According to Adam Kamins, director of regional economics at Moody’s Analytics, the recovery is largely due to people wanting to move to those states. “Those four states have experienced persistently strong population growth, which really wasn’t dented by the pandemic,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “More and more people keep coming from expensive coastal cities to places like Dallas and Phoenix, which have a relatively lower cost of living and higher quality of life.”
George Hammond, an economist at the University of Arizona, said the reason Arizona bounced back better than other states was that it didn’t impose lockdowns. “Arizona rapidly returned to its prior peak of employment because compared to the nation we didn’t fall as far,” Hammond said. “One big reason is because the stay-at-home order in Arizona wasn’t very restrictive.”
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