Longview ranked No. 2 on a listing of the nation's 124 smallest metro areas for creating and sustaining jobs and general economic growth, according to a report issued this week by the Milken Institute.
Texas in general did well on the report, claiming four of the top five spots in the small city category and four of the top five in the large metropolitan area listing. Midland topped the small city listing followed by Longview, Grand Junction, Colo., Tyler and Odessa.
Austin claimed the top spot on the large metro area list followed by Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Salt Lake City, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown. The state claimed nine of the top 16 spots in the large metro category.
The Miliken Institute is a publicly supported, nonpartisan research organization that focuses on economy and society, according to the group. The report was compiled before the announcement this week that Sitel will layoff 270 employees by the end of the year.
Longview Partnership Chairman David McWhorter said the designation is positive news for the Longview Metropolitan Statistical Area of Gregg, Rusk and Upshur counties.
"This means a lot to the city," McWhorter said Thursday. Despite the global recession, the former Longview mayor said it shows the local economy has weathered the downtown relatively well.
"It reflects a lot of good things in the arena of job creation at both the small business level and for larger businesses," McWhorter said. Signs of success on a national scale like this can only help the area's image, he said.
"This is good for Longview," he said
Longview jumped from the No. 7 place on the 2008 Milken Institute list while Tyler climbed from No. 26 in 2008 to No. 4, the report said.
Susan Mazarakes, business development director for Longview Economic Development Corp., said the ranking reinforces what she is seeing in the community.
"We are so fortunate to have strong companies and a viable workforce, and that means a lot," she said. "The feedback we get from corporate executives and others who come and look at the Longview area is that our workforce has a can-do attitude, and that goes a long way."
Mazarakes also said the climb the area made in the index reflects well on economic diversification efforts of the area's economic entities in recent years.
Ross DeVol, with the Milken group, also said the top-rated metro areas are getting through the recession better than their counterparts.
"'Best performing' sometimes means retaining what you have," said DeVol, director of regional economics. "In a period of recession, the index highlights metros that have adapted to weather the storm."
DeVol said the index this year also was heavily influenced by regional factors such as Texas' oil and natural gas sectors.
"Another factor helping Texas metros move up in the rankings is that state's favorable business climate and its ability to attract jobs and corporations away from higher-cost states," he said.
On the other end, the list of biggest declining areas illustrates the extent that the housing bust has hit Florida. More than half of the 20 metros posting the steepest drops in the rankings are in the Sunshine State. Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent led the declining group this year, falling 124 spots to 157th.
The institute's Best Performing Cities Index includes five-year and one-year measurements of employment and salary growth.
* * *
Top MSAs for economic growth in 2009
1. Midland
2. Longview
3. Grand Junction, Colo.
4. Tyler
5. Odessa
6. Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash.
7. Bismark, N.D.
8. Warner Robbins, Ga.
9. Las Cruces, N.M.
10. Fargo, N.D.
Source: Milken Institute, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit economic research organization. The list is for the nation's 124 smaller Metropolitan Statistical Areas — those with populations of 324,000 or less. Data for all 324 metros is available at www.milkeninstitute.org.
