Metro Areas Are Key to U.S. Jobs, Economy

The nation's metropolitan areas were responsible for "driving the economic performance of the nation as a whole last year," accounting for 98 percent of job growth and 86 percent of national economic growth, according to a new report prepared for the U.S. Conference of Mayors by DRI/WEFA.

The Role of Metro Areas in the U.S. Economy contains data on each of the nation's 319 metro areas, including 2001 gross metropolitan product, as well as growth and employment figures. Economic forecasts are also provided for the 20 largest U.S. metro areas.

As engines of economic growth, job and income creation, metro economies hold the key to the future of the U.S. economy, the report observes. Some of the findings include:

• In the aggregate, metro areas outperformed non-metro areas economically in 2001.
• Of the country's 319 metro areas, 269 grew in inflation-adjusted output in 2001, with 135 growing faster than the national average.
• Over the past decade, metro economy output increased from $5 trillion to $8.9 trillion, an average annual increase of 6 percent, ahead of the national average. Metro areas' share of U.S. economic output increased from 84.6 percent in 1991 to 85.2 percent last year and is predicted to reach 86.7 percent in 25 years.
• Metro areas accounted for 84 percent of all U.S. jobs and 98 percent of job growth in 2001. Metro area workers earn an average of $40,600 in wages and benefits versus $28,200 for those in non-metro areas.

The report found that 2001 productivity gains helped lead to an average annual growth rate of 10.4 percent for Las Vegas, 9.8 percent for Austin, and 9.3 percent for each of Boulder, Phoenix and Colorado Springs, between 1991-2001. The report also offered good news about New York City's economy, saying it weathered the recession better than many other cities, despite the impact of September 11. But a difficult 2002 is predicted for New York, the nation's largest metro economy, "followed by a robust recovery in the following years, bolstered by growth in service employment."

The report underscores the enormous size of the nation's metro economies:

• Sixteen metro areas account for more than half of the output in the state in which they are located.
• The gross product of the 10 largest U.S. metro areas exceeds the combined output of 31 states.
• U.S. metro areas would be 48 of the 100 largest economies in the world if they were nations. In 2001, New York City overtook South Korea to become the world's 13th largest economy. Los-Angeles-Long Beach moved up to 15th, overtaking both the Netherlands and Australia.

The Role of Metro Areas in the U.S. Economy is available under Online Publications at: http://usmayors.org/uscm/news/