Metro Detroit ranks ninth in the country for exceeding post-recession job growth expectations, when compared to the 50 most populous metropolitan areas from 2010 to 2013, according to research from CareerBuilder, a human capital solutions firm in Chicago.
Based on national job growth, metro Detroit employers were expected to add 89,148 jobs from 2010 to 2013. Instead, they gained 125,330 jobs — more than 36,000 more than projected. Houston led the way with more than 250,000 jobs, or 108,229 more than expected, followed by Dallas with nearly 131,000 new jobs, or 90,419 more than expected.
“The metros producing the strongest competitive effect (of job growth) are often heavily dominated by specialized technical industries with well-established local supply chains,” says Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “The overall job growth in these markets is not primarily a product of national economic trends, but rather distinct factors in the local economy such as energy resources in Houston, technology hubs in Silicon Valley and Austin, or the motion picture industry in Los Angeles.”
In Detroit’s case, motor vehicle manufacturing, engineering services, and temporary help services experienced notable increases in jobs post-recession, Ferguson says.
While major cities such as New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia produced more than 100,000 new jobs since 2010, they also fell behind national job trend growths because of industries unique to their regional economies. New York, for instance, lost more jobs than expected based on national trends in finance, manufacturing, and health care.
Chicago didn’t gain as many jobs as anticipated in manufacturing while government, hospitals, and insurance carriers lost jobs. Meanwhile, Philadelphia was hurt by larger-than-anticipated losses in education, commercial banking, and manufacturing.
The top 10, in order of the number of jobs added beyond expectations, is as follows:
| Metropolitan Statistical Area | Total Employment in 2013 | Number of jobs actually added in the MSA from 2010 to 2013 | Number of jobs expected to be added in the MSA from 2010 to 2013 based on national job growth | Number of jobs added in the MSA that beat the expected job growth (competitive effect) |
| 1. Houston | 3,030,835 | 250,607 | 142,378 | 108,229 |
| 2. Dallas | 3,370,536 | 221,161 | 130,742 | 90,419 |
| 3. San Francisco | 2,336,223 | 165,768 | 80,549 | 85,219 |
| 4. Los Angeles | 6,282,545 | 283,664 | 207,319 | 76,345 |
| 5. Austin, Texas | 929,439 | 84,774 | 29,152 | 55,622 |
| 6. Phoenix | 1,956,524 | 124,501 | 70,263 | 54,238 |
| 7. Miami | 2,540,304 | 134,588 | 83,934 | 50,654 |
| 8. San Jose, Calif. | 1,040,777 | 90,559 | 46,767 | 43,792 |
| 9. Detroit | 1,932,779 | 125,330 | 89,148 | 36,182 |
| 10. Riverside, Calif. | 1,432,813 | 76,646 | 42,412 | 34,234 |
