youngstown MSA posts employment gains over past year, unlike 80% of largest metros

Yesterday, the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released its calculations on U.S. employment growth and decline over the past year.

Out of the 100 U.S. metro areas with the largest populations (of which Youngstown is one), the Youngstown MSA of Mahoning, Trumbull, and Mercer counties experienced net private-sector employment growth from Nov 2007 to Nov 2008.

In fact, compared to these 100 metros, Youngstown was ranked 19th. Only 21 of the 100 metros experienced an increase in private-sector employment.

The Detroit MSA led the nation with over 67,000 jobs lost. In fact, the top ten losers were:
91. Minneapolis-St. Paul, down 31,400 jobs
92. New York City, down 33,500 jobs
93. Chicago, down 33,600 jobs
93. Tampa-St. Petersburg, down 33,600 jobs
95. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., down 35,800 jobs
96. Phoenix, down 58,500 jobs
97. Miami-Fort Lauderdale, down 59,700 jobs
98. Los Angeles, down 60,700 jobs
99. Atlanta, down 66,100 jobs
100. Detroit, down 67,700 jobs

Alternatively, the top 10 gainers were:
1. Houston, up 42,400 jobs
2. Dallas-Fort Worth, up 35,100 jobs
3. Washington, up 15,600 jobs
4. San Antonio, up 11,700 jobs
5. Seattle, up 9,900 jobs
6. Virginia Beach-Norfolk, up 9,100 jobs
7. Oklahoma City, up 8,100 jobs
8. New Orleans, up 7,200 jobs
9. McAllen-Edinburg, Texas, up 6,700 jobs
10. Austin, up 6,200 jobs

Columbus (#15) and Youngstown (#19) were the only two Ohio MSAs to gain private-sector jobs.

other regional MSAs on the list:
28. Pittsburgh, down 1,000 jobs
39. Akron, Ohio, down 2,500 jobs
62. Cincinnati, down 5,000 jobs
68. Dayton, down 6,700 jobs
70. Toledo, Ohio, down 7,300 jobs
79. Cleveland, down 11,300 jobs

keep in mind, this is a snapshot for one only moment in time, and over the past year. Long term gains are the most important metric.