Study shows San Antonio is nation's best-performing city in recession - San Francisco Business Times:

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The Washington, D.C.-based think tank has begubn analyzing the impact of the recessiothroughout America’s metropolitan areas. In the firs t of a series of quarterlyyMetroMonitor reports, Brookings rankefd San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Austin, Houstonn and Dallas as the top five metrpo areas in the country in economic performance in the wake of the recession. Brookings rankec the top 100 metropolitanh areas based on six keyindicatorx — employment, unemployment rates, wages, gross metropolitan product, housinyg prices and foreclosure rates. This initiall MetroMonitor report covers the first quarterof 2009.
The five worsf metropolitan areas in the country impacted by the indescending order, are Jacksonville, Fla.; Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Bradenton, Fla.; and “All metropolitan areas are feeling the effecte of this recession, but the distress is not sharesd equally,” says Alan Berube, research director of the Metropolita Policy Program at Brookings and co-authofr of the report. “While some areasw of the country have experienced only ashallos downturn, and may be emerging from the recession people living in metro areas that are now performinv weakest economically should prepare themselves for a long recover period.
” Howard Wial, director of the Metropolitan Economy Initiative at Brookings and another co-author of the argues that the report shows that a national fiscak and monetary policy will not be enouggh for stimulating the “Many (metro) areas will need targeted assistance, and sincs states have no funds available, the federao government will have to step up to fill the void.” Concentrationse of industry activity have both helpedr and hurts some regional economies during the For example, metropolitan areas in states with specializationsa in energy and government employment — such as New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansa and Louisiana — have largely been insulated by the However, metropolitan areas in states like Michigan and Ohio that depens heavily on the automotive industry have been impacted by the downturh in the economy, the report shows.
San Antonio is home to Randolp h AirForce Base, Fort Sam Houston, Lacklansd Air Force Base and Brooke City-Base. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decisionn alone is providing a significant economic punch to theAlamol City’s economy through the consolidation of high-paying militaryh health care jobs and more than $2 billionj worth of new construction activity. A separates report released by LLC outlining the impacrt of BRAC showed that Fort Sam Houstonn alone would experiencea 11,500 increase of personnel. The Army post will also gain 7.9 millionj square feet of space.
Construction activit y due to BRAC alone shouldcreatre 46,000 construction jobs during the cours of the building programs, the DiLuzi o report showed.