Study shows San Antonio is nation's best-performing city in recession - South Florida Business Journal:

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The Washington, D.C.-based think tank has beguh analyzing the impact of the recessiojthroughout America’s metropolitan areas. In the firsgt of a series of quarterlyMetroMonitor reports, Brookinga ranked San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Houston and Dallas as the top five metro areass in the country in economic performance in the wake of the Brookings ranked the top 100 metropolitan areasa based on six key indicators — employment, unemployment rates, gross metropolitan product, housingv prices and foreclosure rates. This initial MetroMonitor report covers the first quartertof 2009.
The five worst metropolitan areas in the countryh impacted bythe recession, in descending are Jacksonville, Fla.; Lakeland, Tampa, Fla.; Bradenton, Fla.; and “All metropolitan areas are feelinb the effects of this but the distress is not shares equally,” says Alan Berube, research directorf of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookingse and co-author of the report. “Whil e some areas of the countru have experienced only ashallow downturn, and may be emergint from the recession already, peopl e living in metro areas that are now performing weakest economically should prepare themselves for a long recovert period.
” Howard Wial, director of the Metropolitann Economy Initiative at Brookings and another co-author of the argues that the report shows that a nationa fiscal and monetary policy will not be enough for stimulatinf the economy. “Many (metro) areas will need targeterd assistance, and since states have no fundws available, the federal government will have to step up to fill the Concentrations of industry activity have both helped and hurt some regional economies duringthe recession. For metropolitan areas in states with specialization in energy and governmentemployment — such as New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana — have largelg been insulated by the recession.
However, metropolitan areas in states like Michigam and Ohio that depenc heavily on the automotivee industry have been impacted by the downturn in the thereport shows. San Antonio is home to Randolph AirForce Base, Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base and Brooka City-Base. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decisiob alone is providing a significant economid punch to theAlamo City’s economy througu the consolidation of high-paying military health care jobs and more than $2 billiojn worth of new construction activity. A separate report releasede by LLC outlining the impact of BRAC showed that Fort Sam Houstonj alone would experiencea 11,500 increase of personnel.
The Army post will also gain 7.9 millioj square feet of space. Construction activit y due to BRAC alone shouldcreates 46,000 construction jobs during the coursew of the building programs, the DiLuzio repor showed.