Meet Two of the Nation's Cities With the Fastest Job Growth
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is Your Money Matters from The Wall Street Journal. Welcome to Your Money Matters. I'm Jennifer Strong in New York. Two of the nation's cities with the fastest job growth might come as a surprise. Joining us from our Washington newsroom with the details is The Wall Street Journal's Sarah Cheney. Sarah, before we dive in here, can you set the stage a bit?
How strong is the U.S. jobs market right now and what headline metrics matter?
What's happening with jobs growth at the national level?
Sure, of course. The labor market is extremely strong right now. In July, the economy actually posted a record 82nd straight month of job creation, and the unemployment rate has been hovering at about 4.3%, which is a 16-year low. And even wages are growing at a pretty steady pace if you account for inflation. What's really interesting, I think, is kind of the differences between regional labor markets and what we're seeing with regards to jobs growth in metro and state markets. So where are we seeing the fastest job growth? Sure.
Which metros posted the fastest job growth in July and why is that surprising?
So in July, two of the cities with the fastest jobs growth were actually Boise, Idaho and Provo, Utah, which are mountain cities out in the west. And we've also seen really fast job growth in the South, particularly Florida.
Interesting. And what are some of the factors propelling growth in cities like Boise and Provo?
I mean, it's really a confluence of factors. When we think of the West, we think California and Silicon Valley and kind of the booming tech market there. But the economists I've spoken with have said we're seeing a lot of Americans actually priced out of California because home prices are soaring there.
Why are Provo and Boise seeing rapid job gains compared with other Western markets?
Inflation is just really high. And they're kind of forced to migrate to nearby states in the West. And so that's why we're seeing kind of this increased economic growth and jobs growth in cities like Provo and Boise. Another interesting factor is we're also seeing migration of retired baby boomers to cities in the West. People are looking for homes that are maybe a little bit less expensive and where they can kind of live off the differential.
How does ‘full employment’ create labor shortages and what does that mean locally?
Additionally, we're seeing Americans on the East Coast migrate over to the West Coast. And so Provo actually had the largest job gains since the recovery began among any of the large metros that we analyzed. And a Milken Institute report that looked at the top 25 cities based on job performance noted that Provo's development has really stemmed from this vibrant tech scene. You know, it's like another Silicon Valley almost. And Boise actually climbed into Milken's list for the first time since 2007. And the Metro has really been benefiting from growth in lots of different sectors, particularly construction. Those numbers are really high.
How is migration from expensive metros like California driving growth in Provo and Boise?
Part of that is due to kind of recovery from the financial crisis. But demand across the board in these industries has been really strong.
We're talking to Sarah Chaney about some of the places with the fastest jobs growth. And you're listening to Your Money Matters from The Wall Street Journal. Thanks for listening, everyone. Sarah, what does full employment mean for cities like Boise and Provo?
I mean, we generally think of a tight labor market as being a positive. But we also see businesses really struggle to find workers to fill open positions.
What industries are fueling Boise’s and Provo’s recoveries and new growth?
And so there's just a lot of untapped, unmet demand in cities like Boise. For instance, we are seeing that in the construction industry in particular across the nation and in Boise. Basically, as more and more people are moving into cities like Boise, there is a strong demand for housing there. But in the construction industry in particular, there has been a shortage of workers. This stems from all sorts of factors like a lower number of people who are interested in joining the construction industry and getting that sort of education and the skills that are needed in construction. And so there's just been kind of this shortage of workers in the labor market there.
That's The Wall Street Journal's Sarah Cheney in our Washington newsroom. Thank you so much. Yes, thank you. And thank you for listening to Your Money Matters from the newsroom in New York.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:25
2
How strong is the U.S. jobs market right now and what headline metrics matter?
0:25–1:09
3
Which metros posted the fastest job growth in July and why is that surprising?
1:09–1:51
4
Why are Provo and Boise seeing rapid job gains compared with other Western markets?
1:51–2:23
5
How does ‘full employment’ create labor shortages and what does that mean locally?
2:23–3:10
6
How is migration from expensive metros like California driving growth in Provo and Boise?
3:10–3:44
7
What industries are fueling Boise’s and Provo’s recoveries and new growth?
3:44–4:46
Speakers
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