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It's likely that fewer Phoenix jobs (Click here) were lost this year than was originally predicted.

In April, the Arizona Department of Commerce predicted that the state would lose a total of 50,400 jobs this year, resulting in a decrease of 2 percent. That estimate was recently lowered to a loss of 25,700 jobs or a decrease of 1 percent.

The DOC's more optimistic outlook can be attributed to federal stimulus money and better-than-expected hiring in many sectors, which has actually caused the economy to improve in recent months, according to an article by The Arizona Republic.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act injected about $255 million into the economy. In addition, private hiring picked up in education, healthcare, employment services, wholesale trade, restaurants and bars, and mining.

So what's on the horizon for Arizona? The DOC is predicting that the state will actually experience a net gain in employment during 2011, marking the first increase in three years, but that gain will be smaller than original predictions.

Earlier this year, the DOC predicted that the state would add a total of 23,100 jobs next year, resulting in an employment increase of 1 percent. That forecast has now been reduced to an addition of 16,500 jobs, which would make for a .7 percent increase.

The job gain predictions were reduced because funding from the ARRA will wrap up, business and consumer spending is expected to remain low, state and local governments are facing large deficits, population growth has declined, and banks are limiting consumer and business loans.

The Phoenix metro area is expected to do better than the state during 2011, adding 13,200 jobs, an increase of .8 percent. The Tucson metro area should add 1,300 jobs next year, while the rest of the state will add 2,100 workers.