State named among just nine nationally where skilled trades demand outpaces supply, per new report from the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades

BISWIRE/Oct. 19, 2026 — Arizona is the fastest-growing skilled trades market in the United States, according to new state-level data from “The State of America’s Skilled Trades: A National Report,” released by the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades — a coalition founded by BlackRock, Carhartt, Ford Motor Company, and Google that has since grown to include AT&T, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and more than a dozen other major employers.

Arizona posted the highest skilled trades employment growth of any state in the nation over the past six years (+22.6%, 2019–2025) and is projected to lead all 50 states again over the next decade (+15.9%, 2024–2034). The growth is driven by mega-projects in semiconductor manufacturing — Arizona’s emerging “Silicon Desert” — alongside renewable energy development, commercial industrial space, and continued residential expansion.

The state is also one of just nine nationally — alongside Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas — that the national report identifies as having skilled trades demand significantly outpacing the supply of trained workers. The report projects Arizona alone will need 29,000 electricians by 2034.

Arizona’s boom has created intense demand pressure, ranking #2 nationally on the report’s Demand Pressure Index — trailing only Florida — as employers compete for a limited pool of trained workers. Because in-state training programs, career and technical education (CTE) pathways, and apprenticeships have not kept pace with demand (Supply Position Index, #36 nationally), Arizona has become increasingly reliant on attracting trade talent from other states, drawing more than 3,700 net new skilled trade workers annually — a top-5 figure nationally.

Importantly, Arizona’s challenge is one of growth, not replacement. With only 22.4% of the state’s trade workforce aged 55 or older — one of the youngest in the country — Arizona is not facing a looming retirement cliff. The need is to build new training capacity to match new economic opportunity, not to backfill a retiring workforce.

The full national report, along with America’s Skilled Trades Dashboard — an interactive tool covering 124 skilled trades occupations across all 50 states — is available at skilledtradesreport.com.