In some parts of the country, however, job growth is especially strong. Such is the case in the metro area of Naples-Marco Island, Florida, where the number of jobs jumped by 7.59% over the past year. In other areas of the country the job market remains extremely weak. The number of jobs in Decatur, Illinois, fell by 4.3% over the past year. Based on the most recently available data, 24/7 Wall St. identified the metropolitan statistical areas with the greatest percent gains, and losses, in jobs.
Nationally, several industries have been driving job growth. In several of the metro areas that added the most jobs in the past 12 months, these industries have been a major factor as well. Martin Kohli, chief regional economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), noted that "the continued boom in energy exploration appears to be a factor in why these areas in are doing relatively well." In Midland and Odessa, Texas, two of the cities adding the most jobs, mining accounted for a great deal of job growth.
In other metro areas where jobs are on the rise, the housing sector has played a major role. Job growth in construction and new housing starts have begun to pick up after reaching multi-decade lows during the recession. This is especially important for the four fast-growing job markets in Florida, Kohli explained. An improved housing market is important "because areas in Florida were among those hardest hit by the bursting of the housing bubble."
Employment in the manufacturing sector rose last year, but in many of the metro areas losing the most jobs, the long-struggling sector continued to decline. In Peoria and Deca! tur, Illinois, which both had among the largest job losses between October 2012 and October 2013, manufacturing employment declined 8.4% and 16.1%, respectively, during that time.
Largely because of continued budget-tightening, nationwide government employment in October was slightly lower than the same month in 2012. In several of the cities losing the most jobs, government employment declined even more. In Manhattan, Kansas, where overall jobs fell by 3.5%, the number of government jobs fell by nearly 10%.
To identify the 10 cities adding and losing the most jobs, 24/7 Wall St. examined the one-year change in total non-farm payroll from figures published by the BLS for each metro area between October 2012 and October 2013. Additional figures on unemployment and labor force size are also from the BLS, as are data referencing the industry composition of the workforce in specific metro areas. Wage data from the Bureau are as of May 2012. Many of these areas are small and data may be subject to sampling error.
These are the American cities adding (and losing) the most jobs.
1. Naples-Marco Island, Fla.
> Jobs pct. change: 7.6%
> Total non-farm jobs: 124,700
> Total workforce: 155,261
> Unemployment rate: 6.4%
As of October, no metro area matched Naples for non-farm job growth over the preceding 12 months. The metro area also added almost 5,800 workers, a 3.9% increase from the previous October. As a result, Naples' unemployment rate dropped from 8.5% in October 2012 to 6.4% in October 2013. By comparison, non-farm payrolls nationwide rose less than 2% over that time, while the U.S. unemployment rate trickled down from 7.9% to 7.3%. One major source for job growth was the leisure and hospitality industry, where the number of jobs increased by 6.7% from last year. Also, job growth in the professional and business services sector was up 10.4% during the same period.
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2. Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla.
>! Jobs pct. change: 6.7%
> Total non-farm jobs: 47,700
> Total workforce: 65,024
> Unemployment rate: 8.0%
The housing crisis affected Florida more than most states, and the Sebastien-Vero Beach area's housing recovery has been slow. The unemployment rate in the area was more than 14% as of October 2009. Three years later, in October 2012, the region still had an unemployment rate of 10.3%, compared to a national rate of 7.9%. Over the next 12 months, however, things began to pick up in the area's job market. The region's labor force grew at one of the fastest rates in the country, and the economy added 3,000 jobs, a 6.7% increase. The unemployment rate fell by 2.3 percentage points to 8%, the fourth-largest decline of any metro area.
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3. Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Fla.
> Jobs pct. change: 6.0%
> Total non-farm jobs: 82,500
> Total workforce: 101,042
> Unemployment rate: 4.4%
Florida is home to the three metro areas with the highest job growth in the U.S., including the Crestview area, where the number of non-farm jobs has risen 6% between October of 2012 and October of 2013. Additionally, the unemployment rate in the area has fallen 1.3 percentage points in the most recent 12 months, and stood at just 4.4% as of October. None of this job growth has come from the public sector, as the number government jobs has been flat over the last year. Many major area employers include aerospace and defense companies, and according to the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County, Florida, the area also offers an industrial air park for private companies to use as well as tax credits to recruit aerospace employers.
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4. Midland, Texas
> Jobs pct. change: 5.2%
> Total non-farm jobs: 87,500
> Total workforce: 95,977
> Unemployment rate: 3.1%
Midland's labor force grew by nearly 4% between October 2012 and October 2013, the fifth! -largest ! improvement out of any metro area. The region's unemployment rate of 3.1% this October was among the lowest in the nation. Like Odessa, Midland's growth may be explained in part by the booming oil and gas industry. According to the Midland Development Corporation, oil and gas companies generated nearly 3,500 jobs in the region over the last 12 months. Compared with other metro areas adding the most jobs, wages in Midland are high. In 2012, the annual median wage was nearly $35,000, in the top third of all metro areas.
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5. Yuba City, Calif.
> Jobs pct. change: 4.8%
> Total non-farm jobs: 39,100
> Total workforce: 70,446
> Unemployment rate: 12.4%
Yuba City is located in the fertile Sacramento Valley and is highly reliant on agriculture. There are more than 61,000 employed people in the region, but less than 40,000 non-farm jobs. Despite non-farm job growth of nearly 5% in the last year and a 17.4% decline in the jobless population, unemployment remains a problem in Yuba City. The region's unemployment rate as of October was 12.4%, much higher than the national rate of 7.3%. Only three other metro areas had a higher unemployment rate than Yuba City.
24/7 WALL ST.: See the rest of the Top 10 cities with biggest job gains
Cities losing the most jobs
1. Decatur, Ill.
> Jobs pct. change: -4.3%
> Total non-farm jobs: 50,800
> Total workforce: 51,006
> Unemployment rate: 11.7%
Even as the Decatur area's labor force shrank, its unemployment was persistently high. There were roughly 50,800 non-farm jobs in the metro area as of October, down from 53,100 one year earlier. Much of this job loss has been in manufacturing, where employment has declined 16% year-over-year through October. Also, agricultural processing giant Archer Daniels Midland has announced plans to move its global headquarters and top executives out of the area. Currently, Illinois legislators are working! on a pla! n to keep the company in state, offering as much as $25 million in long-term tax incentives if the company moves its headquarters to Chicago while adding 500 jobs over five years in Decatur.
2. Manhattan, Kan.
> Jobs pct. change: -3.5%
> Total non-farm jobs: 57,100
> Total workforce: 62,373
> Unemployment rate: 4.7%
Manhattan, Kansas, has struggled to grow jobs in recent years. Although the Little Apple's unemployment rate was just 4.7% in October, up slightly from October 2012, the number of jobs in the area has declined by 3.5% in the last year. The public sector, including Kansas State University and Fort Riley, home to the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, is one of the area's major employers — and one of its major sources of job losses. Government jobs declined by nearly 10% in the last 12 months. Federal defense spending cuts earlier this year impacted the Fort and its workers.
3. Palm Coast, Fla.
> Jobs pct. change: -3.4%
> Total non-farm jobs: 20,000
> Total workforce: 34,424
> Unemployment rate: 9.4%
The unemployment rate in Palm Coast, fell by 1.3 percentage points between October 2012 and October 2013. Still, with a 9.4% unemployment rate, the region continues to have one of the highest jobless rates in the country. The region has had exceptionally high unemployment rates for some time, well above 10% for nearly all of the last five years. In the last year alone, the region lost roughly 700 jobs, or about 3.4%. One of the biggest factors in this decline was the estimated loss of approximately 300 the government sector jobs.
4. Ocean City, N.J.
> Jobs pct. change: -3.2%
> Total non-farm jobs: 38,800
> Total workforce: 53,525
> Unemployment rate: 11.1%
The unemployment rate in Ocean City was 11.1% in October. However, the high unemployment rate may be in part due to the seasonal nature of work in the area. There is a strong leisure and hospitality sector in Ocean City that is ! subject t! o seasonal fluctuations. This past July, for example, there were 20,200 people employed in the sector. Three months later, in October, the sector had shrunk to 9,200. Even accounting for seasonality, the Ocean City job market is quite poor. As of October, total non-farm jobs were down 3.2% over the last 12 months. Further, the area's annual median wage of $30,310 in 2012 was below the national median.
5. Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, Fla.
> Jobs pct. change: -3.0%
> Total non-farm jobs: 70,700
> Total workforce: 85,992
> Unemployment rate: 6.0%
Unfortunately, the Panama City metro area hasn't improved much since January, 2010 the worst month in the past six years. That month, there were just under 70,000 jobs in the region. At last count, there were 70,700 jobs. This October, the region's labor force had shrunk by more than 5% from the year before — the third largest labor force decline nationwide. Because many residents left the area or stopped looking for work, the number of people considered unemployed declined by more than 25%, the largest decline out of all metro areas. The area's annual median wage of $27,600 in 2012 remained one of the lowest in the nation.
24/7 WALL ST.: See the rest of the Top 10 cities with the biggest job losses
24/7 Wall St. is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.
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