The largest 358 metros created 464,000 more jobs in 2012 than the 1,472,000 jobs previously estimated, a 32% increase from initial employment gain figures. 310 of the 358 metros showed job growth.
Nashville, Chicago, and Dallas topped the list of surprisingly upward revisions. Nashville, with a positive correction of 20,600 additional jobs, is an appealing employment hub due to its lack of a personal income tax, central geographic location, and excellent cost of living. Florida comprises over 25% of the list, gaining 47,100 more jobs than previously thought in just four of its top Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in 2012.
The US map below depicts the MSAs that had positive revisions (in blue), those that were revised lower (in red), and metros with no revisions (in white). It should be emphasized that the areas in red received a negative revision and did not necessarily experience job loss. For example, Phoenix is depicted by red in the map below, but still gained 41.5K jobs last year (revised down from 42.9K). In fact, of the 134 MSAs with a negative revision, 104 of these actually added jobs in 2012.
Overall, the revisions suggest that the state of employment in the US is healthier than expected, with 88% of MSAs experiencing positive employment growth in 2012.
