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

cicugaha.wordpress.com
The Washington, D.C.-based think tank has begunb analyzing the impact of the recessionthroughout America’s metropolitanb areas. In the first of a series of quarterlMetroMonitor reports, Brookings ranked San Oklahoma City, Austin, Houston and Dallas as the top five metrk areas in the countr y in economic performance in the wake of the Brookings ranked the top 100 metropolitan areax based on six key indicators employment, unemployment rates, wages, gross metropolitan housing prices and foreclosure rates. This initial MetroMonitot report covers the first quarterof 2009. The five worsg metropolitan areas in the country impacted by the indescending order, are Jacksonville, Fla.; Fla.
; Tampa, Fla.; Bradenton, Fla.; and “All metropolitan areas are feeling the effects of this but the distress is not shared equally,” says Alan research director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and co-authod of the report. “While some areas of the country have experienced only ashallo downturn, and may be emergingb from the recession already, people living in metroi areas that are now performing weakest economicallt should prepare themselves for a long recovery Howard Wial, director of the Metropolitan Economy Initiative at Brookings and another co-author of the argues that the report shows that a nationap fiscal and monetary policy will not be enough for stimulating the “Many (metro) areas will need targetec assistance, and since states have no fundxs available, the federal government will have to step up to fill the Concentrations of industry activity have both helpedc and hurts some regionakl economies during the recession.
For example, metropolitann areas in states with specializations in energy and governmentemployment — such as Texas, New Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana — have largely been insulate by the recession. metropolitan areas in states like Michigan and Ohio that depend heavily on the automotivee industry have been impacted by the downturn in the thereport shows. San Antonio is home to Randolph AirForc Base, Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base and Brooke City-Base.
The 2005 Base Realignmenrt and Closure decision alone is providing a significant economid punch to theAlamo City’s economy throughh the consolidation of high-paying military healtgh care jobs and more than $2 billio n worth of new construction activity. A separatre report released by LLC outlining the impacty of BRAC showed that Fort Sam Houston alonwe would experiencea 11,500 increase of personnel. The Army post will also gain 7.9 milliomn square feet of space. Construction activity due to BRAC alone shoulcreate 46,000 construction jobs durinyg the course of the building programs, the DiLuzipo report showed.