Report: Houston third-best city for jobs

But unemployment increases

Steve Hawley, Apr 29, 10.

Houston is the third-best big city in the US for jobs in 2010, according to an annual survey reported by Forbes. The rankings, which are compiled by Joel Kotkin and Michael Shires, also list four other Texas cities in the top ten.

Shires writes that the rankings are based on a combination of short-term and long-term growth over the last decade. The survey defines “big cities” as ones with over 450,000 non-farm jobs.

However, employment in the Houston region still fell 3.5 percent in 2009, according to MSNBC. The article notes, “The 20 largest metro areas all showed jobs loss from a year earlier.” Bryan-College Station was one of just 16 regions - out of 384 total - to gain jobs over the last year, increasing the local workforce by one percent. All 16 job-gaining regions are small-city metros.

Austin was listed as the best city for jobs for the second year in a row, due to state employment, the University of Texas, and a growing technology sector, but its employment level fell by 1.4 percent. San Antonio ranked second, despite losing 2.4 percent of its jobs, Houston third, Dallas fifth, losing 2.7 percent of its workforce, and Fort Worth seventh, with employment dropping 2.6 percent.

The Houston economy is expected to remain relatively strong due to growth in healthcare and energy, which are stable industries. The Texas Medical Center is the single largest employer in the region, with 72,600 employees.

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