Phoenix economy among fastest-growing in U.S.

Most people would argue that the Phoenix economy is improving, but according to a new report from the Brookings Institution, that growth can be traced back longer than the start of this year. The institute today released its quarterly MetroMonitor report, which tracks the economic progress of the country’s 100 largest metro areas. The study shows that while things are improving, there is still a long, long way to go for the Valley to recover from the Great Recession. For the fourth quarter of 2011, Phoenix’s economy ranked as one of the best in the West as well as in the Top 20 of all metro areas in the study, according to the report. Phoenix was one of five cities in the West that closed out 2011 with four consecutive months of job growth, albeit the growth slowed toward the end of the year. The region still has about 10.3 percent fewer jobs than it had during its 2008 peak, and Phoenix currently sits at No. 93 nationally in terms of job losses. Manufacturing also ticked up in Phoenix, as the region landed in the Top 40 in terms of production, and was gathering steam toward the end of the year, according to the report. Output, however, was weak, with growth of only 0.3 percent in Phoenix during the last quarter of 2011.

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