Austin ranks No. 1 for job growth potential
Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 1:28pm CDT
Austin ranks No. 1 for job growth potential
Texas dominates a new list on job growth potential among the nations
largest metropolitan areas.
Austin ranks No. 1 on the list of big cities for employment potential
from NewGeography.com. The Capital City posted modest job growth of
just 1 percent in 2008 but that was still better than a lot of other
big cities. That growth, coupled with Austins long-term potential to
continue creating new jobs, garnered it the top spot.
Texas major metros round out the top five spots on the big cities
list, with Houston coming in 2nd, San Antonio 3rd, Fort
Worth-Arlington 4th and Dallas 5th.
The list, based largely on job growth in regions across the nation
over the long, middle and short term, has changed over the years, but
the reports authors say the employment landscape has never looked
like this.
'In past iterations, we saw many fast-growing economies--some adding
jobs at annual rates of 3 percent to 5 percent,' said research Joel
Kotkin. 'Meanwhile, some grew more slowly, and others actually lost
jobs. This year, however, you can barely find a fast-growing economy
anywhere in this vast, diverse country. In 2008, 2 percent growth
made a city a veritable boom town.'
Consequently, Kotkin said, this year’s list might more aptly be
called the “'east worst.' Still, he said, those least worst economies
today largely mirror those that topped last years list, even if
those regions have recently experienced less growth than in prior
years.
In Austin for instance the 1 percent job growth in 2008 was less than
a third of its annual average since 2003.
Looking at the complete list of metro areas—including large, medium
and small cities Texas again does well in the top five. Odessa ranks
No. 1 on the overall list, followed by Grand Junction, Colo.;
Longview; Houma, La.; and Killeen-Temple.
Contact Craig Ellmaker, Broker for more details at craig@austin-cashflow.com or 512-784-1494
Filed under: Real Estate, Market Conditions, For Sale, For Rent/Lease, Announcements, Industry, Point2, Finances, Buyer Information, Seller Information, Austin, Texas Community Information