As the U.S. and Canadian economies recover from horrific coronavirus-induced slides last year, it’s interesting to observe where, among cities, the pace is quickening most resoundingly.
Tables 1 and 2 present relatively easy-to-understand assessments of city labor markets.
Each table features side-by-side rankings of cities according to year-over-year number of jobs changes (from fastest to slowest) and unemployment rates (lowest or tightest to highest or most severe).
Table 1 is a condensed version of the whole data set for America’s 51 largest (by population) cities that appears at the end of this article. It has been shortened to the top 33 cities according to both criteria (jobs growth and U rate) for ease of posting to social media.
For Canada, Table 2 includes all 35 of the nation’s Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs).
By the way, the latest available U.S. numbers are for June; for Canada, the coverage is through July. Sometimes Canadian data is a month ahead; but there are instances when it’s the other way around (e.g., retail sales statistics).
In Table 1, beige-colored highlighting shines a spotlight on the two U.S. cities that are among the Top 10 for both rapid jobs growth and low unemployment rates. According to this methodology, Raleigh and Detroit currently possess the Top Tier labor markets among America’s major cities.
