Strongest metro: Columbus, Ohio
Change in real gross metro product since peak: 5.6 percent
Change in no. of jobs since peak: -3.2 percent
Unemployment rate (Mar 2011): 7.6 percent
Change in housing prices since peak: -18.2 percent
Not only has Columbus emerged as one of the country's strongest performing economies since the downturn—with gross metro product 5.6 percent above the prerecession peak—its recovery has also been better than most, according to the Brookings Institution. The area has gained jobs in all of the last four quarters. According to the Columbus Chamber on Commerce, the area is the second-fastest growing metro in the Midwest.
Change in no. of jobs since peak: -3.2 percent
Unemployment rate (Mar 2011): 7.6 percent
Change in housing prices since peak: -18.2 percent
Not only has Columbus emerged as one of the country's strongest performing economies since the downturn—with gross metro product 5.6 percent above the prerecession peak—its recovery has also been better than most, according to the Brookings Institution. The area has gained jobs in all of the last four quarters. According to the Columbus Chamber on Commerce, the area is the second-fastest growing metro in the Midwest.
