Arizona No. 2 in new jobs since 2000

Over the past 10 years Arizona has added more jobs than every state except one, according to new figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Arizona added 119,100 private-sector jobs from May 2000 to May 2010. Texas has enjoyed the best decade of any state, adding 661,000 private-sector jobs. But even the two leaders have been seriously affected by the recession. Arizona gained 336,600 in the first eight years of the decade, followed by a loss of 217,500 from 2008 to 2010, yielding an overall increase of 119,100. Texas gained 1.02 million private-sector jobs from May 2000 through May 2008, then lost 359,400 in the past two years, resulting in the overall gain of 661,000 for the decade. Michigan is dead-last with a 10-year decline of 790,600 private-sector jobs. Close behind is California with a loss of 719,600. Other states that have lost more than 200,000 jobs since May 2000 are Ohio (down 595,200 private-sector positions), Illinois (down 450,500), Indiana (down 245,500) and Georgia (down 207,000).

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