Houston Leads the Nation in Employment….Still
Houston registered the nation’s biggest gain is private-sector employment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released today. As a matter of fact, Houston has been the pace setter for employment for the last couple of years.
The Houston area added 42,400 private-sector jobs between November 2007 and November 2008, almost three times the gain of any other U.S. market, except for Dallas, the #2 market, with a gain of 35,100 jobs. No other U.S. market gained more than 15,600 private-sector jobs during the 12-month period.
Just one-fifth of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, in fact, managed to add any jobs at all. Seventy-eight suffered losses, 21 posted increases, and one was unchanged.
Four other markets lost more than 50,000 private-sector jobs during the past year: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix.
The following are the 100 biggest labor markets in America, ranked according to raw change in private-sector employment between November 2007 and November 2008. With Houston leading the way, Texas cities comprise half of the top 10 list of job creators…again.
1. Houston, up 42,400 jobs
2. Dallas-Fort Worth, up 35,100 jobs
3. Washington, up 15,600 jobs
4. San Antonio, up 11,700 jobs
5. Seattle, up 9,900 jobs
6. Virginia Beach-Norfolk, up 9,100 jobs
7. Oklahoma City, up 8,100 jobs
8. New Orleans, up 7,200 jobs
9. McAllen-Edinburg, Texas, up 6,700 jobs
10. Austin, up 6,200 jobs
11. Boston, up 4,600 jobs
11. Raleigh, up 4,600 jobs
13. El Paso, Texas, up 4,100 jobs
14. Hartford, up 3,600 jobs
15. Columbus, up 2,900 jobs
16. Baton Rouge, La., up 2,800 jobs
17. Bakersfield, Calif., up 2,000 jobs
18. Omaha, up 1,100 jobs
19. Youngstown, Ohio, up 500 jobs
20. New Haven, Conn., up 300 jobs
21. Des Moines, Iowa, up 200 jobs
22. Poughkeepsie, N.Y., no change
23. Greensboro, down 100 jobs
24. Baltimore, down 200 jobs
25. Albany, down 500 jobs
25. Syracuse, N.Y., down 500 jobs
25. Tulsa, down 500 jobs
28. Little Rock, Ark., down 1,000 jobs
28. Modesto, Calif., down 1,000 jobs
28. Pittsburgh, down 1,000 jobs
31. Wichita, Kans., down 1,300 jobs
32. Greenville, S.C., down 1,600 jobs
33. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pa., down 1,700 jobs
34. Portland, Maine, down 1,900 jobs
35. Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn., down 2,000 jobs
36. Chattanooga, Tenn., down 2,300 jobs
37. Birmingham, down 2,400 jobs
37. Springfield, Mass., down 2,400 jobs
39. Akron, Ohio, down 2,500 jobs
39. Jackson, Miss., down 2,500 jobs
41. Charlotte, down 2,600 jobs
41. Grand Rapids, down 2,600 jobs
41. Stockton, Calif., down 2,600 jobs
44. Ogden, Utah, down 2,800 jobs
45. Daytona Beach, Fla., down 3,000 jobs
45. Fresno, Calif., down 3,000 jobs
47. Knoxville, Tenn., down 3,200 jobs
48. Worcester, Mass., down 3,300 jobs
49. Allentown-Bethlehem, Pa., down 3,400 jobs
49. Indianapolis, down 3,400 jobs
51. Harrisburg, Pa., down 3,500 jobs
52. Madison, Wis., down 3,600 jobs
53. Albuquerque, down 3,700 jobs
54. Colorado Springs, down 4,000 jobs
55. Charleston, S.C., down 4,100 jobs
55. Richmond, down 4,100 jobs
57. Rochester, N.Y., down 4,200 jobs
58. Augusta, Ga., down 4,300 jobs
59. Lakeland, Fla., down 4,600 jobs
60. Buffalo, down 4,700 jobs
61. Palm Bay-Melbourne, Fla., down 4,800 jobs
62. Cincinnati, down 5,000 jobs
63. Honolulu, down 6,000 jobs
64. Columbia, S.C., down 6,100 jobs
64. Denver, down 6,100 jobs
66. Salt Lake City, down 6,400 jobs
67. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks, Calif., down 6,500 jobs
68. Dayton, down 6,700 jobs
69. Nashville, down 7,100 jobs
70. San Jose, down 7,300 jobs
70. Toledo, Ohio, down 7,300 jobs
72. Orlando, down 7,600 jobs
73. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., down 9,200 jobs
74. Las Vegas, down 9,600 jobs
75. Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla., down 10,100 jobs
76. Jacksonville, down 10,700 jobs
77. Kansas City, down 11,000 jobs
78. Boise, Idaho, down 11,200 jobs
79. Cleveland, down 11,300 jobs
80. Milwaukee, down 12,400 jobs
81. Louisville, down 12,800 jobs
82. Memphis, down 13,600 jobs
83. St. Louis, down 14,200 jobs
84. Sacramento, down 14,900 jobs
85. Portland, Ore., down 15,500 jobs
86. Providence, down 16,600 jobs
86. Tucson, down 16,600 jobs
88. San Diego, down 17,500 jobs
89. Philadelphia, down 18,800 jobs
90. San Francisco-Oakland, down 21,100 jobs
91. Minneapolis-St. Paul, down 31,400 jobs
92. New York City, down 33,500 jobs
93. Chicago, down 33,600 jobs
93. Tampa-St. Petersburg, down 33,600 jobs
95. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., down 35,800 jobs
96. Phoenix, down 58,500 jobs
97. Miami-Fort Lauderdale, down 59,700 jobs
98. Los Angeles, down 60,700 jobs
99. Atlanta, down 66,100 jobs
100. Detroit, down 67,700 jobs