How many years worth of jobs has your city lost in the Great Recession? The Brookings Institution has done a tally in this report.
According to the report, the only metro area that has actually gained jobs since the outset of the recession is McAllen, Texas, a border town that has been a huge beneficiary of the North American Free Trade Agreement. McAllen has added 0.7% jobs through the fourth quarter of 2009 from its prerecession peak.
In fact Texas — where rising oil prices and a smaller decline in real-estate prices has left the economy on stronger ground than most of the rest of the country — has six of the top 15 cities for job growth through the Great Recession.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, the worst off cities are rust-belt regions that were on a downward slope long before the great recession hit. Among the worst off metros were those in manufacturing havens Ohio and Michigan.
Change in Jobs, by Metro Area
| Metro Area | Change from peak to Q4 2009 | Change from Q3 2009 to Q4 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 0.7% | -0.5% |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | -0.4% | 0.4% |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | -0.8% | 0.0% |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | -0.9% | 0.2% |
| El Paso, TX | -1.5% | -0.5% |
| Rochester, NY | -1.7% | 0.4% |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | -1.8% | 0.4% |
| Jackson, MS | -1.9% | 0.1% |
| Syracuse, NY | -1.9% | -0.1% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | -2.1% | 0.0% |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | -2.1% | -0.2% |
| Oklahoma City, OK | -2.4% | -0.4% |
| Tulsa, OK | -2.4% | -0.2% |
| Columbus, OH | -2.6% | -0.2% |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | -2.6% | -0.8% |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | -2.6% | -1.1% |
| Baton Rouge, LA | -2.7% | -1.3% |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | -2.7% | -0.5% |
| Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY | -2.7% | 0.1% |
| Columbia, SC | -2.8% | -1.1% |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | -2.9% | -0.3% |
| Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC | -3.0% | 0.4% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | -3.0% | -0.1% |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY | -3.1% | -0.2% |
| Madison, WI | -3.3% | -0.9% |
| New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA | -3.3% | -1.0% |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | -3.4% | -0.5% |
| Baltimore-Towson, MD | -3.4% | -0.3% |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | -3.4% | -0.1% |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | -3.4% | 0.5% |
| Worcester, MA | -3.5% | -0.2% |
| Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | -3.6% | 0.2% |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | -3.6% | 0.1% |
| Albuquerque, NM | -3.7% | 0.1% |
| Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH | -3.8% | -0.2% |
| Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC | -3.8% | -0.5% |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | -3.9% | -0.3% |
| Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA | -4.0% | -0.1% |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | -4.1% | -0.2% |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | -4.3% | 0.0% |
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | -4.4% | -0.1% |
| Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN | -4.4% | 0.1% |
| Bakersfield-Delano, CA | -4.5% | -0.1% |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | -4.5% | -1.2% |
| Richmond, VA | -4.5% | -0.3% |
| Honolulu, HI | -4.6% | -1.1% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | -4.6% | -0.3% |
| New Haven-Milford, CT | -4.6% | -0.3% |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | -4.6% | -0.6% |
| Colorado Springs, CO | -4.7% | -0.3% |
| Knoxville, TN | -4.7% | -0.5% |
| San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA | -4.7% | 0.3% |
| Fresno, CA | -4.8% | 0.5% |
| Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO | -4.9% | -0.4% |
| Salt Lake City, UT | -4.9% | -0.3% |
| Springfield, MA | -4.9% | -0.5% |
| Wichita, KS | -4.9% | -1.1% |
| Stockton, CA | -5.0% | -0.2% |
| Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN | -5.2% | -0.3% |
| Indianapolis-Carmel, IN | -5.2% | -0.7% |
| Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME | -5.2% | -1.0% |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | -5.3% | -0.2% |
| Ogden-Clearfield, UT | -5.5% | 0.3% |
| Birmingham-Hoover, AL | -5.6% | -1.1% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA | -5.6% | -0.1% |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | -5.6% | -0.5% |
| Akron, OH | -5.7% | -1.0% |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | -5.8% | -0.6% |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | -5.9% | -0.3% |
| Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI | -6.0% | -0.7% |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | -6.3% | -0.3% |
| Provo-Orem, UT | -6.3% | -0.1% |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | -6.6% | -0.6% |
| Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC | -6.8% | 0.2% |
| Modesto, CA | -6.8% | -1.0% |
| Tucson, AZ | -6.8% | -0.9% |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | -6.9% | 0.0% |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | -7.0% | -0.3% |
| Jacksonville, FL | -7.2% | -0.4% |
| Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH | -7.3% | -0.2% |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | -7.3% | -0.1% |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | -7.3% | 0.0% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | -7.4% | -1.0% |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC | -7.5% | 0.0% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA | -7.8% | -0.6% |
| Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA | -7.8% | -1.3% |
| Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA | -8.4% | -1.1% |
| Dayton, OH | -8.5% | -1.1% |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | -8.9% | -0.9% |
| Las Vegas-Paradise, NV | -9.8% | -1.8% |
| Toledo, OH | -9.8% | 0.5% |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | -10.2% | -0.5% |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | -10.5% | -0.1% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ | -10.6% | 0.0% |
| Boise City-Nampa, ID | -10.7% | -0.5% |
| Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA | -11.1% | -1.3% |
| Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, FL | -14.4% | -0.2% |
| Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI | -15.6% | -0.8% |
| New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA | -16.4% | 0.0% |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | -17.0% | -0.9% |
Source: Brookings; Moody’s Economy.com