Many entry level jobs are available in Arizona as the state's winter tourism industry starts to heat up.

In July 2008, Arizona's leisure and hospitality industry employed 272,800 people, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, an increase of 1 percent from last year.

The Arizona Workforce Informer predicts the leisure and hospitality industry will increase by almost 2 percent through 2009, adding 5,000 jobs. The industry is expected to add 2,900 jobs through 2008 and 2,000 jobs through 2009.

The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area's leisure and hospitality industry employed 186,400 in 2007, and is expected to employ 189,300 in 2008, an increase of 1.6 percent, and 191,300 in 2009, an increase of 1 percent.

In an article by KTAR.com, Theresa Maher of Jobing.com said many area hotels already have help wanted signs out.

"Tourism always bumps up right around September through the holidays," Maher said in the article, "so you're finding anything from entry level front-desk staff, bellman, anything on the back end in terms of cleaning staff-and also management."

With the state of the current economy, it's tough to predict how successful this year's tourist season will be, the number of businesses currently advertising seasonal jobs seems to be an encouraging sign.

It also is expected foreigners will make up a large part of the tourism industry profit this year. This is mainly due to the fact that the value of the dollar is lower that overseas currency, making it appealing for foreigners to visit the United States. Arizona serves as one of the top vacation spots in the country.

Also as of late, many Americans are practicing "stay-cations," or vacations in their own state. This helps avoid high gas and airline prices.