The U.S. Cities Hit Hardest By The Recession: Brookings Institution (PHOTOS)

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- An international study says Las Vegas has one of the worst economies in the world, and prospects for a rapid recovery appear dim.

The Brookings Institution and London School of Economics study ranked Las Vegas fifth from the bottom in a ranking of 150 metropolitan areas, citing a limited economy that relies heavily on tourism and construction.

Las Vegas fared better than only Dublin; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Barcelona, Spain; and Thessaloniki, Greece. The rankings weigh jobs, job growth and income.

Las Vegas was ranked the world's 14th best economy from 1993 through 2007, according to a report by the Las Vegas Sun published Tuesday.

Sin City's decline began during the recession in 2008, when it fell to 128th place.

The report said the gradual recovery that has played out in most U.S. cities in recent months eluded Las Vegas. The city's income levels declined 1.2 percent despite an increase nationally, and the employment rate dropped 3 percent, much greater than the national decline of 0.7 percent.

"If the first year (of recovery) is any indication for Las Vegas, it could be a long, slow road ahead," Alan Berube, senior fellow and research director at Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, told the Sun.

The report also refers to Las Vegas' record foreclosure rates. The area has the second highest share of bank-owned homes in the country and more than two-thirds of residential mortgage holders owe more than their homes are worth.

The strongest growth during the recovery has taken place in highly educated regions such as Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis; Austin, Texas; and San Francisco, Berube said. Highly educated people tend to work in industries that haven't been hit very hard, and if they do become unemployed, they have an easier time finding a new job compared to someone who's less skilled and educated, he said.

Check out the other U.S. cities hit hardest by the downturn:

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#15 Jacksonville, Florida

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Jacksonville's employment rate decreased 1.4 percent from 2009 to 2010 and had an income recovery rate of 2.2 percent.

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Jacksonville's employment rate decreased 1.4 percent from 2009 to 2010 and had an income recovery rate of 2.2 percent.

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Comments

[Gingerale]

10:04 AM on 01/07/2011

Is this our new American Dream?

http://www.e-tabitha.com/2011/01/who-me.html

[MikeyJaii]

11:44 PM on 12/20/2010

We could change things here drastically in New York City, but road blockers will be rock blockers.

[stumanchu35]

09:47 AM on 12/06/2010

Don't worry about CA. We made a statement in the last election that we will continue to spend into oblivion. CA needs to become 2 states.

[Chip W]

07:44 AM on 12/17/2010

Or a separate country so it can print its own money.

[Peter007]

08:43 AM on 12/06/2010

A little political jab here.
Hillary Clinton was U.S. Senator from NY ( no she's not from NY ) and her campaign was based upon helping Upstate NY recovery. Now we see two major upstate New York cities are on the life support list. It's a good thing she quit her job as NY Senator. She following the footsteps of her Husband who is working tirelessly to help Haiti.

Is he or is he campaigning?

[Deep77]

08:48 AM on 12/06/2010

Actually Hiliary has done a lot for Upstate NY when she was a Senator. Infact her numbers in that region during her time had gone up every year she was in the Senate. You can't blame Hilary on Rochester and Buffalo's problem.

[Skimom]

06:11 PM on 12/06/2010

You're kidding right? Did Hillary govern those cities as well? I suppose then that John Ensign is doing a horrific job since Las Vegas is #1.

[TheWestLA-Banned]

07:19 PM on 01/10/2011

Excellent reply.

[Califishing]

04:19 AM on 12/06/2010

I still think this recession and blight of jobs is all planned. Not everyone can own a $500,000 home and not everyone can earn $1,000,000 a year. There had to be a correction and the Gov. if they wanted to in my opinion could bring jobs back to the US. at the very least the American people should boycott companies that took jobs out of the country.

Something I did notice is if there is such a big recession why are stadiums from college to professional sports still full? Are people getting rid of their cell phone? What recession? 9% unemployment means there 91% employed.

[jukesgrrl]

11:44 PM on 12/06/2010

But the people who are already making a million a year are damn well going to cook the books so they can keep on doing it.

[Trepasky]

10:26 AM on 12/20/2010

Sadly the 9.8% unemployment number is misleading and does not include:
http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/unemployment-98-november-2010
Long term unemployed - 6,313 million
Forced Part Time - 8,972 million
Marginally attached to the labor force - 2,531 million
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
The number of unemployed persons was 15.1 million (the source of the 9.8% number.
When you add these numbers which do not include many who are not employed (the young who are entering the work force, and others). The under and unemployed are about 30,000,000 which is more than 22% of the capable workforce.
A more realistic 'employed' number is 78% and is likely as much as 10%-20% over stated still

[rtx47]

08:52 PM on 12/05/2010

Currently there are many pious thoughts presented about the recession or unempolyment or working poor. These are well meaning but these efforts are band-aids. They do not solve the problem; and they may exacerbate the problem by perpetuating them?

Major reasons for the "unemployment" and "working poor":

1. Low educational and job skills. A major problem given the 50% school drop-out (70% in inner cities) and additional 25% drop-out of college.

2. Single parent bringing up children. (60% of babies are born to unwed mothers).

3. Disabled and indigent (usually grandparents) not assisted and cared for by first and second degree relatives.

4. Drug and alcohol dependency.

These four points are not the total issue, but crux of the problem which leads to bigger social issues. Addressing these issues, spares resources to tackle those who fall between the cracks.

In all these scenarios, unless underlying causes are addressed by the individual or relatives, long-term outlook for the individual is bleak. Family unit (first and second degree relatives) is the basis of society (animal and human) long before we were civilized and later invented society and government i.e. need / requirement for familiy support is in our DNA.

From my experience, a significant number of urban Americans have totally lost sight of importance of family - and the series of duties and responsibilities (on all sides) that the family unit entails.

[javajava]

09:51 PM on 12/05/2010

how about this.. 100 million jobs and 110 million folks to fill them.

[Peter007]

08:47 AM on 12/06/2010

There are 6,000 government employees around the country who's job it is to make sure certain people don't work.
Licensing and excessive qualifications are keeping people from getting a job.
Those 100 million jobs would turn into 110 million jobs if salaries would settle into market salaries instead of "Political" salaries.

[Trepasky]

10:30 AM on 12/20/2010

Yes, those are factors and addressing them will help.
However, there are still far too few jobs available.
8 un or underemployed for each 1 job available (national numbers).
Creating jobs is the only solution for those who and want to work.
I am 61, (too old to get hired), a hi-tech professional, highly educated, unable to find work.

[Tim Janssen]

05:22 PM on 12/05/2010

Didn't you hear? Detroit's been destroyed, news has been suppressed. Can't wait for Mr. Wiki to take another leak.

[Tim Janssen]

02:54 PM on 12/05/2010

Recession?..............My Butt! This will make the Great Depression look like a Sunday picnic and may last for 20 years or more. You heard it hear!

[jeremyemilio]

04:44 PM on 12/05/2010

Yep. Time for the D word to become broadly accepted is long overdue.

[javajava]

09:57 PM on 12/05/2010

At the height of the depression in 1933 unemployment was 25%. In 1982 in the Reagan recession it reached 9.5%. I realize employment hardly figures a complete picture but..

you can look it up.

[jdmn17]

05:07 PM on 12/05/2010

As long as some bureaucrat can crunch numbers we will never acknowledge the "D" word. Then again maybe Wiki can leak the internal memo's where the government is pulling its hair out. We have cities and even states tottering at the edge of bankruptcy. People on city and state pensions better start looking over their shoulders because if they bankrupt one of the first things they'll forgo are funding the pension funds. Same with the Federal Government. I can see Congress voiding all pension funds except of course their own. Wait until they go after Veterans. Lock and load

[Saywhut]

01:05 PM on 12/05/2010

In 1994 gaming started in Robinsonville MS. People bought new homes who now made more money. Who's to say the casino is going to stay? It was a whole new concept there. Needless to say a bunch of casino's didn't make it and there were more then enough people wondering in their new houses that they now had to sell 'cause they were out of a job. The same thing happend in Las Vegas. People come over here buying houses they can't afford but it all looks to great 'cause they make more money. Not to mention the idiotic housing market shot thru the roof for what reasons? The same home that was for sale in the south-west for $ 75K in the 80's was now for sale for $ 250K in 2008 and nothing was done to that house to make it worth $250K. Greed is what got all of them I guess and despite what has happend, some folks who were lucky to keep their jobs don't give a damn about the people who lost theirs. Nothing, I guess, will influence a person's opinion until it happens to him or her. We're a long way from learning valuable lessons 'cause now we have some people with either no pitty for others or hatred against others. I sure hope we learn sooner then at the speed we are learning now. Day by day we are getting more and more divided and that's not a good sign.

[jdmn17]

05:09 PM on 12/05/2010

The split is not only getting wider it's now easily seen even without Google earth. We will be at each others throats within two years. Hope this country is ready to collapse into anarchy

[jeremyemilio]

12:48 PM on 12/05/2010

Man... I can't believe Albany isn't on this list. I'm from Atlantic Canada, and we do a road trip or two around New England every year. This past summer we decided to finally get out to Cooperstown, and we figured we'd stay over in Albany. First time I've been there, admittedly, but that was easily the most depressed (and depressing) city I have ever visited in North America. Downtown was gutted, every second storefront was boarded up. Out in the suburbs we visited the most extreme ghost mall I had ever seen. Huge place with a Burlington Coat Factory still open at one end and an 8 screen cinema at the other. We visited at right around 7:00 in the evening, and I counted 12 vehicles in the parking lot of the theatre... there were 8 movies showing! The only other shops open were a fella selling Dixie flags and hunting knives, and a shop that had been turned into a martial arts studio with just four guys practicing on a couple of old mats (can't imagine how low the rent must have been). Food court looked like it had shut down yesterday. New signs and counters and seating, zero equipment other than a single glass door fridge in one kiosk with a couple small cartons of milk. Sorry for all the detail, but I'd never seen anything like it. That's the day I permanently tossed the 'recession' nonsense and faced up to 'depression' reality.

[Brokenduck]

01:43 PM on 12/05/2010

By the way, do you as a Canadian citizen like your health care? There is no right or wrong answer....

Just curious.

[CanadianBeef]

03:17 PM on 12/05/2010

It takes some navigation. You get the care you ask for, to some extent, and sometimes you have to be a jerk to get an MRI if the doctor doesn't think it's strictly necessary. But it really is free. My city is expanding, doctor numbers haven't kept up, so I just kept my doctor 50 kilometres away.
I don't know about the opinion of my fellow-Canadian above, but I wouldn't trade it for the mess you have in America. And I, too, have neen spooked out after driving through Upper New York State. In my case, it was by the abandoned farms and the shacks people live in. The Ogdensburg area looks like it's been through heck.

[jeremyemilio]

04:03 PM on 12/05/2010

95% of Canadians like our healthcare system, as such. The dissatisfaction numbers you see printed in American papers or on American news stations are almost exclusively made up of folks who are dissatisfied with the fact that certain powers have been slowly chipping away at our system for a couple of decades now in efforts to move us toward a more American style system. Anyone who tells you different is one of the 5%ers who either has ulterior motivations or is utterly oblivious to reality.

[Nuyorican21]

07:07 PM on 12/05/2010

Albany has always looked like that to be honest.

[verycold]

11:24 AM on 12/05/2010

With regards to LV, the product they were selling is gambling.  When the money dries up for most, gambling is out.  LV was built on a faulty foundation. 

The state of CA is a disaster.  Sadly, the gov and his cronies, believe otherwise even in the face of all the bad news.  There is utter refusal by the government to see the real picture.  I think they are remembering how things once were and not seeing how things are right now.  This is a state that wants all the goodies, but doesn't want to pay for it.  During the last election, a group of CA residents pretty much had their say about how they see themselves.  They believe they are different than the rest of the country.  They believe they moved to CA to be different and mostly to have control and not be told how to think and live.  This group of about 100, that included both parties, made if very clear they were not about the change and still wanted to do things their way.  They refuse to accept they took a state with an abundance of resources and turned it into an economic mess that actually long ago depleted their natural resources.  Can we say water?

[4peace]

10:55 AM on 12/05/2010

In other words, most of the major cities in the country.

[liveinhope23]

10:53 AM on 12/05/2010

I find it truly sad that instead of Americans feeling concern and compassion for their fellow citizens during these awful times, most of the posts here embody a smug satisfaction that these events were caused by the "other side" and the only consistent emotional response appears to be self-congratulatory political validation - based on extremely skewed logic and a magnificent ignorance of the facts.
What on earth happened to us? Have we really come to the point where the only reaction to the decimation of our country is a smug "I was right - you guys did this". If my neighbor is in trouble, my first reaction is not to point a finger at the cause and revel in my own good sense to have avoided it. My reaction is to try and help.
Americans once embodied a generosity of spirit for which they were justly famous world-wide. Now, when our own country is faltering, that quality appears to have disappeared completely. I realize that the gulf between our Left and Right ideaologies has grown very wide but the next time you hear about someone losing their farm or their job or their home, try not to feel too good that it confirms your political convictions. Try to feel a little compassion and see if you can do something to help.

[4peace]

10:58 AM on 12/05/2010

Well said, thank you. Compassion seems to have slipped out of the conscience of the country, it is very disheartening and sad.

BTW, fanned & faved.

[verycold]

11:36 AM on 12/05/2010

Smaller communities still feel the compassion. 

Here is something to mull over a bit.  On one of the Everybody Loves Raymond episodes, Ray's brother, the cop, had apparently not been very good with his money. He was very down about his situation.  He had only a few things in is refrig to eat.  So Ray and his wife feeling very bad for Robert, have him money to help get him back on track.  So they had hoped he would pay off some of his bills to relief the stress he was obviously feeling.  Instead he packed his bags, and planned a week stay in LV.  Ray was furious because after all he had given his hard earned  money to his brother to help him out of the hole, not bury him further. 

This is why Americans are often hard pressed to feel sorry for others.  We all know too many Roberts.  A few years ago my neighbor having been laid off several times and with huge health issues, did something similar.  After repeatedly telling me how hard things were for them, they took off on a trip paying 200/nightly for their room.  They told me they needed the break admitting it was a splurge.  I considered the trip fiscally irresponsible.  In the past, nobody considered what a neighbor did with their money any of their business, but now with this huge downturn we can all see what each does with money can effect the entire community.  If one house is foreclosed on, it can drag down values.  Sometimes it is really hard to stay silent when such poor decision making is going on and often it is hard to feel sympathy.

[nam medic]

09:28 AM on 12/05/2010

These towns all have two things in common, high taxes and too much regulation. Cancel all taxes and regulations on small businesses and the unemployment disaster will improve. Keep thinking that government will solve this problem and we will have Depression II. You cannot tax,regulate, gamble,lotto, or fine your way to prosperity. The big business/Government cartel has cost America dearly with their outsourcing and free trade scam. Low taxes plus fewer regulations equal more profits, jobs, and freedom.

[Shzron1946]

10:03 AM on 12/05/2010

Ah, yes, cancel all taxes and fees, and then who will offer protection and support to those small businesses? You sound obtuse and ridiculously simple-minded. But go on, expand on your argument, and it does not matter in the least that you have no actual basic understanding of the real problems involved. After all, this is America and speech is free. (Another way of saying "talk is cheap".)

[shp]

12:05 PM on 12/05/2010

Ridiculous argument when the taxes cause the business to go bankrupt or leave the city/state anyway.

So, how, oh master, is your answer any better than the above posters?

[Chicagowill]

04:32 PM on 12/05/2010

If that were the case, I would expect to see New York City, Chicago, Boston, and Minneapolis on the list. Places like Atlanta and Jacksonville always advertise here how low the taxes are and how helpful the government is.

Your hypothesis doesn't hold water.

[Chuck Mak]

07:36 AM on 12/05/2010

All of the Rust Belt cities have been in a prolonged recession since 1975, including my own.