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Thats good for the Metroplex and Austin.I really think Houston needs to diversify their economy away from being so dependent on West Texas Intermediate,Cowboys fan.
Were on the right track, but weve got a long way to go. DFW used to be dependent on oil too. They knew it was a problem and started catering to other industries. Their geographic location helps too because its much more central to the US than Houston is. That makes it a natural logistics hub.
Houston needs to be seeking out non O&G based companies. We need better marketing to other industries.
Makes me happy to see a city in Michigan on top of this list. And though Detroit isn't quite in the top 10, even it outpaced the average growth rate in the nation, which is great. Given Michigan's track record for the first 10-15 years of the 21st century seeing Grand Rapids, Detroit, and even Lansing and Kalamazoo, doing well is rather refreshing - though they weren't tracked in this study. I have to say, though I'm not a huge Snyder fan he deserves some credit for helping turn a dumpster fire of a state economy into a pretty decent one.
Hopefully the economy really has diversified enough that the trend continues even after auto manufacturing slows for the next few years.
The May labor figures show Grand Rapids labor force has surpassed Buffalo's in size. Making it larger than Buffalo, Rochester, and Birgmingham. 49th in labor force size, while 52nd in population. Is this just indicative of a higher labor participation rate?
The 10 smallest labor forces of the "large" metros.
Energy hit hard. The Pittsburgh MSA lost about 5,000 mining/logging (read: coal and natural gas) jobs from December 2014 to December 2016. This weakness also did a number on manufacturing jobs, since the two employment sectors have a symbiotic relationship with each other. The Pittsburgh MSA also lost about 5,000 manufacturing jobs from December 2014 to December 2016.
The good news is, mining/logging job losses in the Pittsburgh MSA appear to be leveling off in 2017. The month-over-month changes have been flat since December 2016.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Interesting how much better Detroit does relative to it's reputation as the poster child of rust belt decline. It's growing faster than all but a handful of other Midwest metros and faster than most Northeast ones as well. Most people don't realize that the city limits may look like Aleppo but the suburbs are vibrant and affluent. It is still home to the Big 3 domestic auto makers, which means lots of engineering jobs even if more of the actual manufacturing is occurring elsewhere. I'm also surprised that Louisville outgrew all but one regional metro (Nashville).
Forgive my ignorance but what industries and notable companies are based in Grand Rapids? I'm much more familiar with Detroit than that part of the state.
Forgive my ignorance but what industries and notable companies are based in Grand Rapids? I'm much more familiar with Detroit than that part of the state.
Grand Rapids is home to only one Fortune 500 company
SpartanNash -$8billion
3 Private companies that would be fortune 500
Meijer $16billion
Gordon Foods $10billion
Amway $9 billion
Traditionally Grand Rapids has been known as world center for office furniture and solutions. Sometimes referred to as the Furniture city. However the furniture industry no longer dominates the economy as it did when the city grew around it.
Steelcase $3.5b
Herman Miller$2.5b
Haworth $2b
It's also a huge tier 1-2 Auto supplier hub with several companies that are in the 1-2billion range, which accounts for the bulk of it's manufacturing.
However the a good chunk of it's economic growth is centered the $3billion dollar Spectrum health system, via the research cluster that's been developing over the last 20 years. (MSU college of human medicine, and biomedical research center, the Van Andel Institute ect.)
Last edited by mjlo; 07-11-2017 at 10:06 AM..
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