Fastest Growing Mid-Sized Metro Economies of 2017 are Provo, Boise City, and Stockton; Slowest are Youngstown, Bridgeport, and Wichita

10 Jul 2018 Fastest Growing Mid-Sized Metro Economies of 2017 are Provo, Boise City, and Stockton; Slowest are Youngstown, Bridgeport, and Wichita

Recently released data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show which mid-sized metros have the fastest growing economies. Growth is measured by the percentage change in employment between the annual average of 2016 and 2017. Headlight Data ranks employment growth for 55 mid-sized metros (500,000 up to 1 million people) in the U.S.

In 2017, U.S. employment grew 1.4%. Among mid-sized metros, the highest growth is found in Provo (4.8%), Boise City (3.7%), and Stockton (3.7%. Ogden, Palm Bay, and Colorado Springs follow.

The lowest employment growth is found in Youngstown (-1.7%), Bridgeport (-0.9%), and Wichita (-0.8%). Toledo, Baton Rouge, and Syracuse follow.

The U.S. growth rate decreased 0.3 percentage points in 2017 versus 2016. Just 12 out of 55 mid-sized metros experienced an improvement. The mid-sized metros showing the most improvement (with the greatest increase in the annual growth rate) are Tulsa (+0.9 pts.), McAllen (+0.4 pts.) and Stockton (+0.4 pts.). Baton Rouge, Chattanooga, and Dayton follow.

Nearly 3 out of 4 metros have slowed since 2016. The mid-sized metros with the largest declines in growth rate are Deltona (3.0 pts. decrease), Cape Coral (-2.6 pts.) and Toledo (-2.2 pts.). Columbia, Fayetteville, and Durham follow.

Research, analysis and content developed by Headlight Data. Original data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About Headlight Data:

Headlight Data is an award-winning online data aggregator, designed for economic and workforce development organizations, that provides online, decision-support tools on the economy, demographics, education, workforce and public policy.

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