Phoenix-area businesses expected to bounce back after COVID-19, economy expert says

Arizona’s economy has been hit hard by COVID-19 just like the rest of the country. Spring training is not happening, and with a lack of tourism and stay at home orders, small businesses are shutting down.

Arizona’s economy has been hit hard by COVID-19 just like the rest of the country.

Spring training is not happening, and with a lack of tourism and stay at home orders, small businesses are shutting down.

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council provides resources for small business owners to get through these tough times. There are 571,000 small businesses in Arizona and one million workers.

With the second quarter of the Arizona economy just beginning, COVID-19 continues to spread and health becomes the top priority for everyone.

Chris Camacho, President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), says the timing couldn't be worse with spring usually being the valley’s financial prime time.

"Because we didn’t have the balance of Spring Training and obviously our sunshine and weather in March attracts a lot of people from around the world so again weve been hit more significantly than other places as it relates to this time," Camacho says.

But, there is optimism.

Camacho says GPEC is recruiting nearly 300 businesses to come to the greater Phoenix area. A quarter of them are from out of state, California being a big one.

"So California with its tax environment, regulatory environment, difficult labor laws, we're seeing a lot of these companies expand outside of California to places like Arizona, Texas, Utah and other locations," he said.

Another 25% of the businesses are foreign.

According to GPEC, a strong majority of this recruiting pipeline will make an investment in Arizona by the end of 2020.

But first, coronavirus has to be beat.

That's when Camacho says our economy will bounce back.

"And as we see some semblance of return to normalcy at some point when we’re able to get people back into society spending money at restaurants and local eateries and so forth you will see the economy be turned but it will take some time before I think we see that," Camacho said.

There are local, national and federal programs ready to help give small businesses relief, including the CARES Act.

For more information on how COVID-19 impacted small businesses and how to access resources, visit https://www.fox10phoenix.com/tag/health/coronavirus/economy