Indescribable! Indestructible! Nothing can stop it!
No, we aren’t talking about that B-movie icon known as The Blob, but San Jose’s private sector, which, according to Headlightdata.com, is the fastest growing private sector in the country. The difference is that by many but not all, San Jose’s growth is seen as a positive thing.
This data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the growth is measured by the percentage change in private sector employment between December 2014 and December 2015. Large metros were described as having at least 1 million inhabitants.
So, how much did San Jose’s private sector actually grow? It increased an impressive 4.8 percent, which is more than twice the national average of 2.3 percent. Not far behind San Jose was Austin, Texas with 4.4 percent growth, which makes it the 1988 remake of The Blob (not quite as good, but almost as unstoppable). Other metros on the list include Grand Rapids, Mich. (4.1 percent), San Antonio, Texas (4.0 percent), and Portland, Ore (4.0 percent).
Meanwhile, other cities were experiencing much slower growth in their own private sectors, as well. New Orleans, La., Kansas City, Mo., Houston, Texas, and Chicago, Ill. had the top four slowest-growing private sectors in 2015 with respective growths of 0.2 percent, 0.2 percent, 0.5 percent, and 0.6 percent.
Additionally, Sacramento, Las Vegas, and San Francisco saw the biggest jumps in the growth rates of their private sectors. Tucson, San Diego, and San Antonio also experienced hefty increases in their growth rates. Since 2010, ten large metros have seen their growth rates decrease with Oklahoma, Houston, and new Orleans showing the greatest slowdowns.
To see the full lists and to view maps and charts of the various growths of private sectors around the country, click the link below.
