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Saturday November 7, 2009

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MetroMonitor

September 2009

The MetroMonitor is a quarterly, interactive barometer of the health of America’s 100 largest metropolitan economies. It examines trends in metropolitan-level employment, output, and housing conditions to look “beneath the hood” of national economic statistics to portray the diverse metropolitan trajectories of recession and recovery across the country. The aim of the MetroMonitor is to enhance understanding of the particular places and industries that drive national economic trends, and to promote public- and private-sector responses to the downturn that take into account metro areas’ unique starting points for eventual recovery.

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Overall Performance

The MetroMonitor ranks the 100 largest metro areas based on their performance relative to one another on a combination of indicators. View how the areas have fared on changes in employment, unemployment, gross metropolitan product, and housing prices.

Employment

National employment peaked in December 2007, but the jobs picture across the metropolitan areas varies greatly. See when areas began to shed jobs, the extent of their overall employment losses, and trends in recent job growth/decline.

Unemployment Rate

Unemployment rates provide a view of labor market distress experienced by workers in metropolitan areas across the country. View the rankings on which areas proved stronger performers and which were weaker.

Gross Metropolitan Product

Gross metropolitan product (GMP) is the broadest measure of metropolitan economic performance, similar to gross domestic product at the national level. View how GMP changes often differ somewhat from those for overall employment, and depend on the types of jobs that are lost or gained within a metro area.

Housing Prices

The roots of the current economic crisis took hold in the housing market, and most areas of the country have experienced house price declines in recent quarters. See how the effects vary greatly, with some metro areas suffering steep drops, and others remaining on an upward trajectory over the past year.

Real Estate-Owned (REO) Properties

Bad mortgage lending, falling home prices, and rising unemployment have combined to create significant but variable home foreclosure problems across the country. See the share of mortgageable properties owned by lending institutions and how this has changed over the last quarter.

MetroMonitor

Featured Experts

Alan Berube

Alan Berube

Senior Fellow and Research Director, Metropolitan Policy Program

Alan Berube is a senior fellow and research director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. A former policy advisor to the U.S. Treasury Department, he is an expert on metropolitan demographics, low-wage workers, and urban poverty.
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Howard Wial

Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program

Howard Wial, a fellow for the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, directing the Brookings’ Metropolitan Economy Initiative, conducts research on urban and regional issues.
Read More

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