Dallas among top cities for job growth

Wednesday March 21, 2012
Dallas Morning News – by Peter Johnson

A new study shows Dallas ranks fourth among metro areas in job growth while Houston ranks first.

And Texas ranks fourth among states, according to the study by Research Professor Lee McPheters of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

McPheters based his study on the latest jobs figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“As far as the cities, Houston and Dallas have fared especially well since they’re located in Texas, a state that has stayed ahead of most, throughout the recession and recovery,” McPheters said in a press release.

Looking at the states, McPheters notes, “One common theme among those doing well on the list is the use of natural resources at a time of high energy prices. North Dakota, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma are all oil-producing states, and West Virginia and Utah mine coal. North Dakota has ranked first for 33 consecutive months.”

The top 10 cities and surrounding metro areas (1 million or more workers) for non-agricultural job growth, comparing January 2011 to January 2012:

1. Houston – up 3.7 percent
2. Atlanta – up 3.1 percent
3. Denver – up 2.5 percent
4. Dallas – up 2.4 percent
5. Seattle – up 2.2 percent
6. Cincinnati – up 2.1 percent
7. Phoenix – up 1.9 percent
8. Riverside, Calif. – up 1.7 percent
Tampa, Fla. – up 1.7 percent
10. Pittsburgh – up 1.6 percent

The top 10 states for non-agricultural job growth, comparing January 2011 to January 2012:

1. North Dakota – up 6.3 percent
2. West Virginia – up 2.6 percent
Utah – up 2.6 percent
4. Texas – up 2.5 percent
5. Louisiana – up 2.4 percent
6. Oklahoma – up 2.2 percent
Georgia – up 2.2 percent
8. Colorado – up 2.1 percent
9. Tennessee – up 2 percent
10. Kentucky – up 1.9 percent

The overall growth rate for the United States, comparing January 2011 to January 2012, was 1.5 percent. The actual number of jobs went up by 1.986 million nationwide.