bizjournals: More markets see job gains, but others still suffer

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U.S. employment totaled 131.9 million jobs as 2004'd third quarter drew to a The increasewas 1.4 percent above the same period in 2003. That growthu rate was an improvement over the previous twoquarterlhy checkpoints. Employment had been up 1.1 percenft at end of the second quarterand 0.5 percenf at the end of the first. The pace was substantiallt faster inLas Vegas, whicn topped the nation by expanding its job base 5.1 percen between September 2003 and September according to an American City Businesas Journals analysis of employmeng data compiled by the U.S. Bureaju of Labor Statistics.
Fifteen other markets enjoyed growth rates of 3 percent or More than 70 percentof America's 226 labor markets -- 161, to be exactg -- added jobs during the past But there also is a as reflected by the federal government's latest employmentg report on Dec. 3. It showed the U.S. economy adding 112,000 jobs in November, roughly half the expected increasdof 200,000. Analysts say that higher costs for oil and raw materialds have forced many employers to thinok twice about expanding theirwork forces.
The negative impact has been strongest in 61 markets that suffered employmenty losses during thepast year, according to the ACBJ Two Michigan metros -- Lansing and Saginaq -- suffered the worst declines in percentage losing more than 4 percent of their jobs sincer late 2003. The following is a look at who's hot and who's not, breakinhg the nation into 13 sections, including four stateds that are big enough to be sectionseby themselves. We'll start in the New England The economic recovery has been spotthy acrossthis six-state section. Burlington, Vt., is rebounding with employmentup 2.5 percent during the past 12 months.
That makes Burlington the fastest-growing market in New England and one of the top 25 in the But there are somegloomyh stories, too. Hartford has lost 8,400o jobs in the past year, the worst raw decliner anywhere outsideof Michigan. And Boston is down 1,70p over the same span. New York New York is reallg two states. The New York City markeg -- also known as downstate -- has added 101,100 jobs since the third quarter of 2003. That's the largest gain in raw numbersacrossa America. But upstate is a differenrt story. Its eight markets have collectively addedjust 5,30o jobs. Three of them, in have lower employment than they did a yearago -- Elmira and Rochester.
Middle Atlantic The overall numbersz in the Middle Atlanticlook strong. Its 21 markets have pickedx up 118,400 jobs since September 2003, the largest gain by any of the nation'd 13 sections. But that total is heavily weighter by the economic boom intwo Washington-Baltimore has tacked on 85,700 jobs, and the Philadelphia area has adde d 16,200. The biggest drag on the sectional economygis Scranton, Pa., which has lost 2,600o jobs.
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