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Houston lands biggest share of US jobs, report says

July 02, 2014

Houston grabbed a biggest share of job creation post-recession, followed by Dallas and San Francisco, according to a report released today from CareerBuilder and Economic Modeling Specialists International.

“The metros producing the strongest competitive effect are often heavily dominated by specialized technical industries with well-established local supply chains," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “The overall job growth in these markets is not primarily a product of national economic trends, but rather distinct factors in the local economy such as energy resources in Houston, technology hubs in Silicon Valley and Austin, or the motion picture industry in Los Angeles. Thirty-two of the top 50 metros have outperformed national employment growth post-recession which, in turn, can have a positive influence on other geographies.”

According to the report, U.S. metros that experienced notable increases in jobs post-recession and the industries that help drive their economies include:

  1. Houston – Oil and gas extraction, support activities for mining, architectural and engineering services, and education
  2. Dallas – Commercial banking, computer systems design, education and general medical and surgical hospitals
  3. San Francisco – Computer systems design, Internet publishing and broadcasting and Web search portals, and management of companies
  4. Los Angeles – Motion picture and video industries, payroll services and accounting, agents and managers for artists, athletes, entertainers, etc., surgical and medical instrument manufacturing, and guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing
  5. Austin, Texas – Data processing and hosting, computer system design, management, scientific and technical consulting services, and semiconductor manufacturing
  6. Phoenix – Private colleges, universities and professional schools; commercial banking; professional employer organizations; and semiconductor manufacturing
  7. Miami – Legal services, business support services, freight transportation, payroll services and activities related to real estate
  8. San Jose, Calif. – Computer system design, computer manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing and software publishing
  9. Detroit – Motor vehicle manufacturing, engineering services and temporary help services
  10. Riverside, Calif. – General warehousing and storage, offices of physicians, and heavy and civil engineering construction

The research looked at the total job growth across industries for each of the 50 most populous U.S. metros from 2010 to 2013. Each metro’s actual job growth was then compared to what would have been expected for that metro based on national job growth trends during that same time period. The difference between the two measurements revealed how much the metro is exceeding, matching or falling behind national job growth trends because of something unique to that metro’s regional economy.