Arizona Jobs Armed by Local Military

The military industry - one that is often overlooked and under-appreciated - has long had a strong presence and accounted for many Arizona jobs.

The state's military industry accounts for about 45,568 jobs and produces $3.2 billion in direct economic output. Overall, the industry and the businesses it supports is responsible for creating 96,328 jobs and producing $9.1 billion in economic output.

The Arizona Department of Commerce recently released the "Economic Impact of Arizona's Principal Military Operations," a report prepared by The Maguire Company in collaboration with ESI, detailing the importance of the state's military industry.

The five major military installations in Arizona include: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, the Army Intelligence Center & Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, the Army's Yuma Proving Ground and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.

The state also is home to four National Guard operations, including Air National Guard's 161st Air Refueling Wing, Air National Guard's 162nd Fighter Wing, Army National Guard Papago Park and Western Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Silverbell.

Military contractors, such as the Boeing helicopter facilities in Maricopa County and the Raytheon facilities in Pima County, were not included in the survey, but are nonetheless important to the local economy.

The study found that during 2005, Arizona's military industry employed a total of more than 45,500 workers. That's broken down into 19,402 active duty workers; 7,471 reserve workers; 1,198 rotational workers; 3,292 military students; and 14,205 civilian employees. There are also 45,328 military retirees within a 50-mile radius of Arizona and 11,332 linked retirees.

When it comes to pay, the military industry in Arizona shells out more than $2.1 billion to its workers in annual salary. Active duty workers receive the highest pay, at $938.4 million, followed by civilians at $748.4 million, linked retirees at $245.3 million, reserves at $107.3 million, students at $71.2 million and rotational workers at $13.9 million.

The military industry also injects more than $2.6 billion into the local economy through contract spending.

Of the workers employed because of the military industry, but not directly through the industry, more than 24,000 are in the service sector; more than 14,000 are in retail trade; almost 3,000 are in the construction industry; almost 1,000 are in the manufacturing industry; and thousands more are distributed throughout the economy.

As a whole, the military industry accounts for an annual total of $228.8 million in sales tax, $85.9 million in property tax and $86.8 million in income tax for a total of $401.4 million.