The Birmingham-Hoover metro area ranks favorably for job recovery and other factors compared to other metros around the country.
That’s according to recent data from the Brookings Metro Recovery Index, which presents data across a variety of indicators to provide a snapshot of the impact of COVID-19 and the trajectory of recent change for midsized to very large U.S. metros (more than 1 million people). The indicators track impacts and trajectories across the labor market, the real estate market and other areas of economic activity.
When it comes to recovery over the past year, the Birmingham-Hoover metro is outpacing many of the nation’s top metros, placing it in the top 10 of 53 very large metros across five labor market and small business indicators: Lower commercial vacancies (No. 2), higher small business hours (No. 5), higher job growth (No. 6), closer return to pre-recession unemployment rate (No. 6) and more small businesses open (No. 9).
The Birmingham-Hoover metro experienced a promising recovery over the past year relative to 53 very large metros, ranking strongest or relatively strong with all 11 indicators presented but one – listing price of residential real estate. The metro’s performance in this indicator was considered relatively weak with a 4.5 percent increase over the past year, though the current trajectory or performance from December 2020 to January 2021 favorably moves the metro’s listing price performance toward the middle of the pack.
Jobs in the metro’s labor market remain down 2.5 percent compared to last February, while the unemployment rate remains slightly elevated at 1.7 percentage points. Other very large metros across the U.S. are still experiencing job drops as low as 11.2 percent and unemployment rate increases as high as 6.8 percentage points.
“Birmingham’s economy continues to show signs of favorable recovery compared to other metros and its own recovery coming out of the Great Recession,” said Emily Jerkins, vice president of strategy and research at the Birmingham Business Alliance. “Our region’s strong health care industry and growing distribution industry has strengthened our recovery efforts this time around.”