PHOENIX — As the world nears the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic next month, analysts say the U.S. economy is almost entirely “back to normal.”
Arizona’s economy is operating at 97% of where it was in March 2020, according to the Back-to-Normal Index, published by Moody’s Analytics and CNN. The index uses data from 37 national and seven state-level indicators to track such factors as unemployment, job growth and inflation.
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said he is “sanguine” about the country’s economic outlook by the end of the year, with employment expected to return to pre-pandemic standards and inflation moderated by mid-2023. He spoke in a webinar last week with Moody’s held by the Association for Business Journalists.
“Lots of assumptions go into that, and the key one is the pandemic,” Zandi said. “I’m assuming the pandemic continues to wind down. What I mean by that is…
