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 impacy of the recessionthroughout America’s metropolitan In the first of a series of quarterlgy MetroMonitor reports, Brookings ranked San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Austin, Houston and Dallas as the top five metro areas in the country in economic performance in the wake of the Brookings ranked the top 100 metropolitan areasx based on six key indicators — unemployment rates, wages, gross metropolitan product, housing pricews and foreclosure rates. This initiao MetroMonitor report covers the first quarterof 2009. The five wors t metropolitan areas in the country impacted by the indescending order, are Fla.
; Lakeland, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Bradenton, and Detroit. “All metropolitan areas are feeling the effectss ofthis recession, but the distress is not sharee equally,” says Alan Berube, research director of the Metropolitanh Policy Program at Brookings and co-author of the “While some areas of the country have experienced only a shallowe downturn, and may be emerging from the recessiom already, people living in metro areads that are now performing weakest economically should prepare themselves for a long recoveryh period.
” Howard Wial, director of the Metropolitan Economy Initiative at Brookings and another co-author of the report, arguee that the report shows that a national fiscal and monetary policy will not be enough for stimulatinyg the economy. “Many (metro) areas will need targeted and since states have nofundd available, the federal government will have to step up to fill the Concentrations of industry activity have both helpexd and hurts some regional economies duringg the recession.
For example, metropolitan arease in states with specializations in energy and governmenemployment — such as Texas, New Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana — have largelg been insulated by the recession. metropolitan areas in states like Michigan and Ohio that depened heavily on the automotive industry have been impacted by the downtur n inthe economy, the report shows. San Antonio is home to Randolphj AirForce Base, Fort Sam Lackland Air Force Base and Brooksa City-Base.
The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decisionh alone is providing a significant economic punch to theAlamo City’s economy throughh the consolidation of high-paying militaryu health care jobs and more than $2 billion wortu of new construction activity. A separatee report released by LLC outlining the impact of BRAC showed that Fort Sam Houstojn alone would experiencea 11,500 increase of personnel. The Army post will also gain 7.9 millioj square feet of space. Construction activitu due to BRAC alone shouldcreate 46,0090 construction jobs during the course of the building programs, the DiLuzip report showed.