Only 13 of top 100 U.S. metros have bounced back from recession
The Business Journals by G. Scott Thomas
Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 1:00am EST
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Thirteen of the nation's 100 biggest labor markets have regained all of the jobs that slipped away during the recession. The other 87 are still fighting to break even.
G. Scott Thomas Email
Thirteen of the nation's 100 biggest labor markets have regained all of the jobs that slipped away during the recession. The other 87 are still fighting to break even.
On Numbers used preliminary U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data to estimate 2011 private-sector employment levels for all 100 markets. Those estimates were then compared against the official figures for 2006, the last full year before the recession's onset. The results can be seen in the database below.
Houston was the most prosperous metro over that five-year span. It had 2.10 million private-sector jobs in 2006, a base that expanded to an estimated annual average of 2.21 million in 2011. The resulting gain: 109,700 jobs.
Just four other markets -- three of them in Texas -- added more than 25,000 private-sector jobs between 2006 and 2011: New Orleans (up 39,400), Austin (up 37,900), Dallas-Fort Worth (up 36,000) and San Antonio (up 25,200).
Ten metros, on the other hand, are still at least 100,000 jobs below their 2006 levels.
The biggest private-sector deficit exists in Los Angeles, which had 432,000 fewer jobs last year than in 2006. Also on the negative side are Chicago (down 238,800 jobs), Detroit (down 217,700), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (down 182,900) and Phoenix (down 181,400).
The database also translates these five-year changes into percentages, with New Orleans registering the biggest gain (up 9.70 percent) and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., suffering the largest drop (down 19.46 percent).
Yesterday's version of On Numbers offered one-year employment comparisons for the same 100 markets, while tomorrow's entry will take a broader 10-year view.
METRO PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYMENT (2006-2011)
Metro areaPrivate-sector jobs (2006 annual average)Private-sector jobs (estimated 2011 annual average)5-year raw change
Rank5-year percent changeRankHouston2,102,6002,212,300109,70015.22%4New Orleans406,400445,80039,40029.70%1Austin571,200609,10037,90036.64%3Dallas-Fort Worth2,492,7002,528,70036,00041.44%8San Antonio664,700689,90025,20053.79%6McAllen-Edinburg, Texas153,300167,30014,00069.13%2Raleigh405,900415,2009,30072.29%7El Paso, Texas204,200212,2008,00083.92%5Boston2,154,1002,161,2007,10090.33%12Pittsburgh1,010,0001,015,4005,400100.54%9
The Business Journals by G. Scott Thomas
Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 1:00am EST
Enlarge Image
Thirteen of the nation's 100 biggest labor markets have regained all of the jobs that slipped away during the recession. The other 87 are still fighting to break even.
G. Scott Thomas Email
Thirteen of the nation's 100 biggest labor markets have regained all of the jobs that slipped away during the recession. The other 87 are still fighting to break even.
On Numbers used preliminary U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data to estimate 2011 private-sector employment levels for all 100 markets. Those estimates were then compared against the official figures for 2006, the last full year before the recession's onset. The results can be seen in the database below.
Houston was the most prosperous metro over that five-year span. It had 2.10 million private-sector jobs in 2006, a base that expanded to an estimated annual average of 2.21 million in 2011. The resulting gain: 109,700 jobs.
Just four other markets -- three of them in Texas -- added more than 25,000 private-sector jobs between 2006 and 2011: New Orleans (up 39,400), Austin (up 37,900), Dallas-Fort Worth (up 36,000) and San Antonio (up 25,200).
Ten metros, on the other hand, are still at least 100,000 jobs below their 2006 levels.
The biggest private-sector deficit exists in Los Angeles, which had 432,000 fewer jobs last year than in 2006. Also on the negative side are Chicago (down 238,800 jobs), Detroit (down 217,700), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (down 182,900) and Phoenix (down 181,400).
The database also translates these five-year changes into percentages, with New Orleans registering the biggest gain (up 9.70 percent) and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., suffering the largest drop (down 19.46 percent).
Yesterday's version of On Numbers offered one-year employment comparisons for the same 100 markets, while tomorrow's entry will take a broader 10-year view.
METRO PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYMENT (2006-2011)
Metro areaPrivate-sector jobs (2006 annual average)Private-sector jobs (estimated 2011 annual average)5-year raw change
