By Kathy Montgomery | Special for the Republic
The Great Recession technically ended in June 2009, a period that is finally starting to feel as distant as it should.
For too long, the downturn in Arizona traced a path much like the Grand Canyon itself. Economic measures such as gross domestic product, corporate profits, population and job growth fell off like the South Kaibab Trail: steep and unforgiving. The path out has been more like the hike up the gentler Bright Angel Trail. And just as that path is sharpest close to the rim, Arizonans are hoping for a spike in growth.
“Arizona was among the states hardest hit by the recession,” says Lee McPheters, director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. “The national economy lost 6 percent of jobs. Arizona lost 12 percent, so by that standard alone, we were hit twice as hard.”
