The Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) is looking to overcome the challenges associated with doing business amidst a public health crisis while advancing their vision to improve the Greater Phoenix area together. 

In FY20, 42 new businesses came to the region which created 9,776 new jobs in advanced industries with an average high-wage of $68,000. These are businesses that specialize in advanced manufacturing, aerospace & defense, autonomous vehicles, cybersecurity, e-commerce, and software to name a few. The GPEC called it a "record breaking" year for economic growth, according to the GPEC.

GPEC is working to keep the ball rolling in the same direction for FY21.  In the first two months, the council has already partnered with six companies for 945 new jobs with an average high-wage salary of $93,470, but it doesn't stop there.  GPEC says they have 221 "active prospects," 28 of which are expected to secure a deal sometime in FY21. Combined these prospects equal $1.5 billion in capital investments and more than 4,000 new jobs. This is good news despite what Mitchel Allen, SVP of Business Development, described as a "noticeable shift in activity."

"A lot that has to do with the fact that a lot of companies on the office side are still trying to determine what work from home really means for them, and for their company, and how that will impact them in the near future," Allen said in the GPEC press release. 

The GPEC acknowledges their biggest obstacle in the future will be how to overcome the economic downturn created by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the council believes the economy in the Greater Phoenix area will bounce back "stronger than ever."

The GPEC has helped spark the region's economic development by working with 850 companies to either expand or relocate to the area, bringing in more than 154,000 jobs and a roughly $20.4 billion in capital investment during the last three decades.