Economy
Size of Economy
This section of the dashboard presents several indicators of the overall size of the economy and of changes in the size over time. The growth rate of an economy is unrelated to the region's prosperity or to changes in its prosperity. In most years, Arizona is at or near the top of the states in growth rate on measures such as gross product or employment. Yet, on all indicators of individual prosperity, Arizona is below the national average and has not progressed over time.
Employment is perhaps the most commonly used measure of the economy because of its simplicity and timely availability. However, jobs are highly unequal because of wide differences in hourly wages and in the number of hours worked. Thus, indicators measured in dollars, such as earnings or gross product, provide a much better indication of the size and growth of an economy.
