FROM BAD TO WORSE

It's time for our representatives in Congress to start bailing out Arizona before we fall into a depression.

Experts meet in Valley, say 2009 may be start of recovery
by Betty Beard - Dec. 11, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

- The recession is "extraordinarily deep and extraordinarily widespread," the most dangerous since the 1920s, said Joel Naroff, a Philadelphia economic forecaster.

- Arizona's economy is in the worst shape of any state in the West - and its job market has seen the second-largest losses in the nation, behind Rhode Island - because of major overbuilding of homes in 2005-06 and weak job growth today, said Lee McPheters, an economics professor and director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at Arizona State University.

- Arizona's job numbers have been falling monthly through most of the year. The latest job numbers, down 2.8 percent from a year ago, are the worst since 1976, McPheters said. He expects no growth in jobs next year.

The state went from being the nation's No. 1 job creator in 2006 to 49th this year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.