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Albuquerque is weathering the nation's economic downturn better than 85 percent of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas, a new economic report says.
The Duke City is ranked 15th among metro areas with populations of 500,000 or more for strongest economic performance during the recession, according to the Washington, D.C-based Brooking Institution's MetroMonitor.
Topping the list is San Antonio, Texas. At the other end is Detroit.
"In a lot of ways, Albuquerque is experiencing the recession, but to a much more modest degree than the rest of the nation," Alan Berube, who co-wrote the report, said in a phone interview Tuesday.
The Brooking report, the first in a series on how metro areas have been faring the past 15 months or so, ranks overall economic performance based on employment, unemployment rates, housing prices and gross metropolitan product - total value of goods and services produced in the given metro area.
All 100 metro areas are feeling the effects of the downturn, but not equally. In March, for instance, the unemployment rate ranged from 5.1 percent in Provo, Utah, to 17.5 percent in Modesto, Calif. From the beginning of 2008 to the beginning of this year, home prices fell by more than 30 percent in Stockton, Calif., but rose by 4.7 percent in Houston, the report says.
In Albuquerque, employment fell 1.6 percent from a peak level in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with the 2.7 percent average decline from peak levels for all 100 metro areas. The unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2009 was 6.3 percent, below the 100 metro-area average of 8.8 percent and U.S. average of 9 percent.
The Albuquerque area's decline in gross metropolitan product of 1.6 percent was half of the national average, while its 2.1 percent decline in housing prices was much better than the 100 metro-area average of 6.9 percent.
Mayor Martin Chávez said he was pleased with the report, coming on the heels of Albuquerque being ranked No. 2 on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's 10 Best Cities of 2009.
"One of the things we've done successfully over the last 15 years is diversify our economy, from the Sandia Science and Technology Park, to UNM's technology park, to everything going on at Mesa del Sol with the solar companies and exploding film industry," he said. "These have all helped us weather the storm better than most communities."
Berube said the recession's moderate impact on Albuquerque might be due in part to the fact its economy is not as dependent on the housing market as it is in other areas. He also said home prices - like those in parts of the South, Texas and Arkansas, which are also experiencing less severe effects of the recession - did not spike the way they did in other parts of the Mountain West or interior parts of California.
"The other thing I point to is the role of government employment at the state level and federal jobs in the region - the labs and the military. It shares that in common with areas like San Antonio and Virginia Beach," he said. "That characteristic seems to be associated with performance."
The only metro area that showed growth in both employment and output during the first quarter was McAllen, Texas. No metro area has managed to return to its pre-recession level of employment or output, the report says.
Here's a look at the 20 strongest performing metro areas:
1. San Antonio, Texas
2. Oklahoma City
3. Austin
4. Houston
5. Dallas
6. McAllen, Texas
7. Little Rock, Ark.
8. Baton Rouge, La.
9. Tulsa, Okla.
10. Omaha, Neb./Iowa
11. El Paso
12. Wichita, Kan.
13. Washington, D.C.
14. Des Moines, Iowa
15. Albuquerque
16, Virginia Beach, Va.-N.C.
17. Harrisburg, Pa.
18. Pittsburgh, Pa.
19. New Haven, Conn.
20. Rochester, N.Y.
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