By Tom Blodgett | Your Valley
The East Valley has been reaping the benefits of the technology sector’s growth in Arizona and Greater Phoenix.
The area has seen growth through several corridors across the region, making it a major player in Arizona’s designation as the “Silicon Desert,” a term that has hovered over the area for decades.
Arizona’s entry into technology dates further back, at least to Motorola and Honeywell coming to the area in the 1940s. The East Valley scored a major victory for the state when Intel Corp. came to Chandler in 1979.
But it has been more recent where momentum has built into what Greater Phoenix Economic Council President and CEO Chris Camacho described as a flywheel effect, with each regional victory leading to more victories.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metropolitan statistical area added 15,433 high-tech jobs between 2015 and 2020, a growth rate of 24.8%, nearly three times the national average of 8.9%.
