Midland ended 2013 where it
started by having the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, according to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Midland tied Bismarck, N.D., and Logan, Utah, in
December with 2.8 percent unemployment rate.
It was a leap for Midland, which
tied for the nation’s fifth lowest rate in November (2.9 percent).
Midland returns to the top spot for first time since April,
when the city recorded its fifth straight month atop the rankings. During a five-month stretch from
December 2012 through April 2013, no community in America posted a lower jobless rate than
Midland.
The strength of the Permian Basin
was on display in the BLS rankings not once, but twice, as Odessa posted the 12th lowest rate in the nation at 3.4 percent.
Statewide, Midland has recorded
the lowest unemployment rates in the state every month in 2013. Earlier this
week, it was reported that IHS Global Insight, an Englewood, Colo.-based global
think tank, ranked Midland No. 1 in the nation for largest
employment growth and fastest growing economy.
Odessa ranked second in both rankings.
Last year, Midland’s gross metro
product grew 7.5 percent, and about 6.3 percent more jobs were created last year compared to 2012, according to the report.
Last year, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported no area in the nation
could boast the per capita income that existed in Midland.
Midland topped Bridgeport, Conn.,
on the annual list, knocking Fairfield County from its lofty perch after a 26-year run.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis
reported Midland’s metro area reported a per capita income of $83,049. San Francisco, San Jose, Calif., and Washington,
D.C., rounded out the top five metropolitan
areas.
