PHOENIX — A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the Phoenix area led the nation in most jobs created over the last year.

The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro area added about 66,500 nonfarm jobs from May 2018 to May 2019, a 3.2% increase, according to the report released Wednesday.

Phoenix just barely beat out the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward metro area in California, which added about 66,400 jobs in the same time period.

The state added a total of about 75,000 jobs, and all of the state’s metro areas included in the report experienced job growth except for Lake Havasu City-Kingman and Sierra Vista-Douglas.

The state’s top sectors for job creation were education and health services (17,200 jobs), construction (15,100) and professional and business services (12,800), according to a governor’s office press release.

“It’s not by accident: Arizona’s pro-business policies, low taxes and light regulations are delivering more job opportunities and bigger paychecks for Arizona workers,” Gov. Doug Ducey said in the release.

#BREAKING: The Phoenix metro area is #1 in the U.S. for job growth! 🌵📈 Arizona’s booming economy continues to deliver more jobs, bigger paychecks and investments in #ThingsThatMatterAZ @bls_gov @azcommerce #AZMeansBiz https://t.co/AHtSkMhHvD — Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 3, 2019

The report came one day after Ducey chose to pull incentives out of a deal for a Nike manufacturing plant in Goodyear, which was expected to create 500 jobs.

In a series of early-morning tweets, Ducey expressed anger over Nike’s decision to stop the sale of sneakers printed with the Betsy Ross-era Amercian flag.

Former NFL quarterback and social activist Colin Kaepernick objected to the design, calling it offensive because of its connection to the time of slavery, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday night.

Ducey said the Arizona economy was strong enough that it didn’t need Nike. He directed the Arizona Commerce Authority to withdraw a $1 million grant it had offered the company.



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