19 February 2020

Area Development's Q4 2019 Leading Metro Locations >

2 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES Where does PhxMetro Stat Area rank?

Here's the interactive map with the size of the circle spheres as metrics for 399 Metro Areas. . . You see where the Phoenix Metro Statiscal Area MSA is in relation to other MSAs in the country? Here's an inter-active exercise for readers of this blog >
YOU DO ALL THE WORK TO GET DATA !
For a point of comparison with Area Development's Research Desk, there's an insert of the latest edition issue of Bill Jabjaniak's Quick Jab 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REPORTER. It's all 'the good news' they want you to see, but there's one data table that shows some shortcomings in the workforce
2019 Educational Attainment(Highest Level Completed)
 Mesa  Phx-Mesa metro
 High School21.9%19.6%
 Some College26.5%24.2%
 Associates Degree
 or Higher		36.2%40.4%
 Source: ESRI Community Analyst, 2019

2019 Employment & Labor Force
 Mesa Phx-Mesa metro
 Labor Force263,9102,514,255
 Employment251,4412,392,982
 Unemployment4.7%4.8%
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2019
Note: Not seasonally adjusted
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Metro areas that are hotbeds of technology lead the pack, joined by others showing manufacturing prowess, which has a large economic ripple effect.


2019 Educational Attainment
(Highest Level Completed)
 Mesa  Phx-Mesa metro
 High School21.9%19.6%
 Some College26.5%24.2%
 Associates Degree
 or Higher
36.2%40.4%
 Source: ESRI Community Analyst, 2019

2019 Employment & Labor Force
 Mesa Phx-Mesa metro
 Labor Force263,9102,514,255
 Employment251,4412,392,982
 Unemployment4.7%4.8%
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2019
Note: Not seasonally adjusted
2019 Educational Attainment(Highest Level Completed)
 Mesa  Phx-Mesa metro
 High School21.9%19.6%
 Some College26.5%24.2%
 Associates Degree
 or Higher		36.2%40.4%
 Source: ESRI Community Analyst, 2019

2019 Employment & Labor Force
 Mesa Phx-Mesa metro
 Labor Force263,9102,514,255
 Employment251,4412,392,982
 Unemployment4.7%4.8%
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 2019
Note: Not seasonally adjusted

LATEST EDITION
January 2020: Q1 --2019: What a year for economic development in Mesa! 
Bill - NewsletterFirst Quarter 2020
The Quick Jab
Bill Jabjiniak
2019: What a year for economic development in Mesa!
It would be more than a slight understatement to say 2019 was a good year for economic development activity in Mesa, Arizona.
Truthfully, it has been extraordinary.
Thus, it is only fitting that we review some of the City’s more high-profile achievements for 2019.
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JANUARY: The City of Mesa selected the contractor to build ASU @ Mesa City Center, a five-story, 118,000-square-foot academic building, as well as The Plaza @ Mesa City Center, a two to three acre gathering place in Downtown Mesa. Titan Solar, named the nation’s largest rooftop solar contractor by Solar World, opened its 36,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, newly relocated in West Mesa.
MARCH: Waymo announced a large expansion of its driverless car operations with a new 85,000-square-foot Technical Service Center in Mesa. Myndshft, a technology company specializing in blockchain and artificial intelligence in healthcare, announced it plans to quadruple its team from 28 to more than 100 employees and relocate to a new 11,000-square-foot office in the Mesa’s Falcon District. Fujifilm Electronic Materials broke ground on an 85,000-square-foot space, adding 60 new employees and five new buildings significantly expanding manufacturing, warehousing, R&D laboratory, and office space.
APRIL: Print.Save.Repeat. located two warehouses and manufacturing facilities for a total of 65,000 square feet in Mesa’s Gateway Area.
MAY: Mesa-grown Aqua-Tots, the world’s largest swim school franchise with 100 locations in 14 countries on three continents, broke ground on its new 12,000-square-foot headquarters facility. CMC Steel opened its 63,000-square-foot expansion at its Mesa micro-mill and a new Residence Inn by Marriott opened its doors, both in southeast Mesa. And, Potato Barn located its 100,000-square-foot store in Mesa’s Gateway Area.
JUNE: The Landing at PMG, a 281,000-square-foot Class A industrial subdivision, opened in Mesa’s Gateway Area and announced its first three tenants, Collabtech Group, Huesman Brothers Door and Custom Molding, and Russell-Sigler Inc. Nearby, Times Microwave Systems expanded its Mesa manufacturing facility to 62,000 square feet, an increase of more than five times its original size.
JULY: Google announced its intention to acquire 187 acres to build a future data center campus in Mesa’s Elliot Road Technology Corridor. AT&T opened a new 97,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art customer call center that will employ more than 500 people in West Mesa.
AUGUST: CAVU Aerospace announced it will locate an 80,000-square-foot MRO at the Landing at PMG hiring 75 employees, again in Mesa’s Gateway area.
SEPTEMBER: CenturyLink announced a major expansion of its network infrastructure in Mesa’s Gateway Area to support the growing commercial, industrial, and residential development. The Mesa Office of Economic Development launched efforts to develop a brand for Mesa’s growing Asian district. Marwest Enterprises announced Landing 202, a 605,000-square-foot Class A industrial development, on 45 acres just north of Gateway Airport. Able Aerospace, a Textron company, celebrated the opening of a $9 million, 60,000-square-foot expansion of its existing 200,000-square-foot headquarters and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) campus at the Gateway Airport. The expansion will create 100 new jobs.
OCTOBER: SkyBridge Arizona, the nation’s first and only joint U.S. and Mexican customs hub, broke ground on the first two buildings in its 360-acre, master-planned industrial development located at the southwest end of the runway at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Home2 Suites by Hilton broke ground on a four-story, 111-room hotel in the Falcon District. Ground was broken on the first building of the 1.35 million-square-foot Union, a Class A office campus located in Mesa’s Riverview District next to the Chicago Cubs spring training facility. Raging Wire received City planning and zoning approval to construct a 1.5-million-square-foot, seven-building data center campus in Mesa’s Elliot Road Technology Corridor.
North Carolina-based insulation manufacturer Greenfiber announced it will be locating a 74,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Mesa’s Gateway Area. And, Nammo, an international aerospace and defense company headquartered in Norway, announced it will replace its current US organization of several smaller units with a new, consolidated defense manufacturing company called Nammo Defense Systems, which will be based in Mesa’s Falcon District. Nammo will invest nearly $20 million into the Mesa facilities.
NOVEMBER: Urbix Resources, a graduate of Mesa's LaunchPoint accelerator program, opened a 31,000-square-foot headquarters and state-of-the-art graphite processing facility in Mesa’s Falcon District with the expectations of creating as many as 100 jobs. FatCats opened its new 64,000-square-foot entertainment complex in the Falcon District.
Of course, these types of accomplishments do not happen without a great product and team. Here are just a few of the accolades the City of Mesa received in 2019:
  • Ranked one of the Best-Run Cities in America by Wallethub.
  • Ranked a Top 10 Mid-Sized American City of the Future for Connectivity by fDi Intelligence.
  • Named one of the Best Large U.S. Cities to Live in by Wallethub.
  • Ranked number five in Job Growth by CityLab, a digital magazine that focuses on innovation and pressing issues facing today’s global cities and neighborhoods.
  • Ranked number seven among the Best Suburbs for Millennials in Arizona by Niche.
  • Named a Top 10 City for Startups by Commercial CafĂ©.
  • Won the Diversity Award from the National League of Cities.
  • The City’s Office of Economic Development was recognized by the International Economic Development Council for its web-based tool AerialMesa.com, an interactive, 360-degree aerial viewing map.
We wish to thank those who have chosen to expand their businesses in Mesa and all our partners and friends who have assisted in the process. Your investment in our community is truly appreciated and goes a long way in building a healthy economy in Mesa. www.SelectMesa.com
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