The New York-White Plains metropolitan area has emerged as the leader in the US job market, driven by robust growth in the education and health services sector. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New York added a remarkable 156,600 jobs in the year ending in July, marking an increase of 60,400 jobs from the previous month, according to an analysis by RealPage.
This surge in employment places New York firmly at the top of the job creation leaderboard for July, outpacing other major metropolitan areas. Houston secured the second spot with 74,500 new jobs, despite a slight decrease from June’s figures. Los Angeles, showing signs of economic improvement, climbed to third place with 73,900 new positions, a significant jump from the previous month.
The positive trend extended beyond New York, as several other top markets also experienced notable employment gains. Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Atlanta all reported increases, with Atlanta making a leap from ninth to sixth place. Las Vegas and Miami also saw improvements, while Riverside entered the top ten, replacing St. Louis.
Overall, the top ten markets collectively added 636,900 jobs over the past year, a 23% increase from the previous month. While New York was the only market to exceed 100,000 new jobs, five others reported gains between 50,000 and 99,999 jobs. However, not all areas shared in the prosperity; eight markets experienced job losses, including Baltimore, Denver, Memphis, and Milwaukee.
In terms of employment growth rates, College Station, Texas, led the nation with a 6% increase, overtaking Charleston, South Carolina. Newcomers such as Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and Naples, Florida, also made impressive strides in job growth, joining the top 10 list.
Despite the overall positive outlook, some major markets like Portland, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Chicago, and San Francisco reported sub-0.5% growth, highlighting areas that continue to face economic challenges. Nonetheless, 86 markets recorded job growth rates above the national average of 1.6%, indicating a broadly improving employment landscape across the country.