Economic Recovery tracked in 100 Largest Metro areas

Brookings Institute recently published their study on the economic recovery in 100 metropolitan areas. The study clearly points out that the Midwest, and inter-mountain areas are the strongest and the west and east coast in general are continue to be the most sluggish.

METROMONITOR: 2ND QUARTER 2010
9
Unemployment Rate
Unemployment continued to plague metropolitan areas hit hardest by the housing bust. California
and Florida contained 11 of the 15 metropolitan areas with the highest unemployment rates in June.
Those California and Florida metropolitan areas, along with Las Vegas, had staggering unemployment
rates as much as 7.5 points above the national average. Metropolitan areas with heavy state and federal
government employment continue to boast some of the lowest unemployment rates.
The manufacturing centers of the Great Lakes region saw some of the largest declines in
unemployment rates since one year ago. Although unemployment rates remained largely unchanged
nationwide and in the 100 largest metropolitan areas as a whole, 12 metropolitan areas, including Detroit,
Toledo, Minneapolis, Youngstown, Portland (OR), and Wichita, had unemployment rate declines of one
percentage point or more in the last year. Meanwhile, the unemployment situation worsened since a year
ago in housing-bust metropolitan areas and in a few state capitals (Harrisburg, Sacramento, and Jackson).

For the full report

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Programs/Metro/metro_monitor/2010_09_metro_monitor/0915_metro_monitor.pdf