If you are in healthcare there s a virtual shortage here. PT, OT, nurses of all levels are badly needed. Hi-Tech computer people are in high demand. Servers and bartenders are in demand right now. That s a seasonal thing when the snowbirds start arriving from the northern latitudes and they should be here to around March or April.Non-skilled people in eateries are a hit and miss thing. Any company can replace an 18 year old with no experience with another 18 year old with no experience. It also pays very low and these jobs never show up on the websites with other high-end jobs.So the bottom line here to answer your question is it all depends on what your skills and educational level are.
The economic downturn hit Phoenix pretty hard. Still there are places worse than Phoenix, such as Michigan, Las Vegas, Rhode Island and large parts of California