BRIEFING - Metro Job Markets Analysis
Top Four Metros For Job Growth Found in Texas Posted on May 29, 2008 by Staffing Industry Analysts, Inc.
Event
Texas towns led the list of fastest-growing large metropolitan areas in terms of jobs in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Background and Analysis
Houston, fueled by the oil and gas industry, added 71,100 jobs year-over-year in April, the most of any large U.S. metropolitan area. Its year-over-year growth rate was 2.8%, the fastest among all large metros.
The pace of Houston's growth, however, was slower than in March when the area posted job growth of 3.2%.
In Austin TX, the number of jobs rose 2.7% year-over-year in April, making it the second-fastest growing metropolitan area with more than 650,000 workers. Still, the area posted year-over-year job growth of 2.9% in March.
Dallas and San Antonio TX both posted 2.3% increases in jobs year-over-year in April. That's unchanged in San Antonio from the previous month, but higher for Dallas which posted year-over-year growth of 2.0% in March.
Detroit lost 50,900 jobs over the last 12 months, down 2.6%, the largest decrease among large metros. The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area in Southern California registered the second-highest percentage decrease in jobs, down 1.4%. It was followed by the Tampa and Miami areas in Florida, down 1.1% and 0.6% respectively.
As for unemployment, Oklahoma City reported the lowest jobless rate in April, 2.9%, for the second month in a row among U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of 1 million or more, according to the BLS. The New Orleans area reported the second-lowest unemployment rate at 3.0%.
Detroit again posted the highest jobless rate among large metropolitan areas at 6.9%. It was followed closely by the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area in Southern California at 6.8%.South Dakota and Wyoming posted the lowest jobless rates among all states in April at 2.6% each, according to the BLS.
South Dakota has reported the lowest jobless rate among states since January and had tied in December with Idaho for the lowest rate.
Michigan again registered the highest unemployment rate among states in April at 6.9%. It was followed by Alaska at 6.7% and California at 6.2%.
Staffing Industry Analysts' perspective
Texas again topped the list for job growth in the country, although two Texas metros posted slightly slower growth than in the previous month. The oil and gas economy appears to be benefiting the area.
On the other hand, areas that saw extensive homebuilding activity such as California and Florida are suffering. In particular, the Los Angeles and Riverside metropolitan areas in California, as well as two Florida metros, Tampa and Miami, lost jobs. Two other sunbelt cities that have been experiencing a high degree of homebuilding – Las Vegas and Phoenix – also saw lower employment. More broadly, it's noticeable that declines in employment are spreading. Ten of the 38 large metro markets saw a decline in employment in April, comparable to the 11 in March. However, this compares with seven in February, and in 2007 only one metro market typically saw a decline in employment – Detroit. |
|
