Brookings: Recovery Underway by 3Q 2009 but Uneven Among U.S. Metros

Since the start of the recession, the strongest performing metropolitan areas are located in the southern midsection of the U.S., especially in Texas, and around upstate New York and the Missouri River Valley, according to the most recent edition of the Brookings Institution’s MetroMonitor series. The brief examines each of the largest 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S. using 3Q 2009 data gauging changes in employment levels, unemployment rates, gross metro products, and housing prices. Brookings found only six metro areas, Albuquerque, Austin, McAllen, San Antonio, Virginia Beach, and Washington D.C. had regained their pre-recession peak of gross metro product by the end of the third quarter. The latest version of Brookings’ MetroMonitor is available at: http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2009/06_metro_monitor.aspx