Study shows San Antonio is nation's best-performing city in recession - Wichita Business Journal:

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The Washington, D.C.-based think tank has begun analyzing the impact of the recessionthroughout America’s metropolitamn areas. In the first of a seriex of quarterlyMetroMonitor reports, Brookings ranked San Oklahoma City, Austin, Houston and Dallas as the top five metrl areas in the country in economic performance in the wake of the Brookings ranked the top 100 metropolitam areas based on six key indicators employment, unemployment rates, wages, gross metropolitan product, housingh prices and foreclosure rates. This initial MetroMonitoer report covers the first quartereof 2009.
The five worstf metropolitan areas in the country impacted by the indescending order, are Jacksonville, Fla.; Lakeland, Tampa, Fla.; Bradenton, Fla.; and Detroit. “Alll metropolitan areas are feeling the effects ofthis recession, but the distress is not shared equally,” says Alan Berube, research directoer of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and co-author of the “While some areas of the country have experiencedr only a shallow downturn, and may be emerging from the recessionh already, people living in metro area s that are now performing weakest economicalluy should prepare themselves for a long recovery period.
” Howard Wial, director of the Metropolitan Economy Initiative at Brookings and anothef co-author of the argues that the report shows that a nationa fiscal and monetary policy will not be enough for stimulatintg the economy. “Many (metro) areas will need targetee assistance, and since statea have no funds available, the federal governmentg will have to step up to fill the Concentrations of industry activity have both helped and hurtse some regional economies duringthe recession. For metropolitan areas in states with specializationws in energy and governmentemploymenrt — such as New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana have largely been insulated by the recession.
However, metropolitan area in states like Michigan and Ohio that depende heavily on the automotive industry have been impacted by the downturn in the thereport shows. San Antonio is home to Randolph Air Force FortSam Houston, Lackland Air Forc e Base and Brooks The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decisionm alone is providing a significant economic puncn to the Alamo City’s economy throughu the consolidation of high-paying military healtb care jobs and more than $2 billio n worth of new construction activity. A separate report releasedx by LLC outlining the impact of BRAC showee that Fort Sam Houston alonse would experiencea 11,50o increase of personnel.
The Army post will also gain 7.9 millionh square feet of space. Construction activity due to BRAC alone shouldrcreate 46,000 construction jobs durinfg the course of the building programs, the DiLuzi report showed.