Houston Plummets From Top To Bottom of Job Creation List

Talk about a fall from grace. Houston, according to a new report from Gallup, tied for last place in job creation among 50 U.S. metropolitan areas in 2016. The Bayou City topped the same survey in 2012-2013.

That means that every other metro in the U.S. did better than the Bayou City when it comes to the creation of jobs. Salt Lake City finished first in the report, with a score of +45, followed by Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky, Columbus. Ohio, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, and Austin.

Hartford, Pittsburgh and Birmingham, Ala., join Oklahoma City and Houston in the bottom five. Hartford has been in the bottom five for the past three years.

The report doubled down on Houston, whose move toward a more diversified economy has been touted by many analysts as fool-proof protection:

"Not only is Houston among the 12 metro areas whose job creation lags the national average, but it is also one of only two metro areas, along with Oklahoma City, whose score has not improved since 2012-2013," Gallup reported. "When Houston ranked first for job creation in 2012-2013, its score was +32; now it is +24. Oklahoma City, which ranked first in 2011 with a score of +25, had a +26 score in 2012-2013 and still does."

The polling organization's index is based on employees' reports of hiring at their workplaces. Gallup asks workers whether their companies are hiring, firing, or maintaining the size of its employee base.

"Nationally, in 2016, 43% of workers said their employer was hiring and 11% said theirs was letting workers go, resulting in a +32 score on Gallup's Job Creation Index," Gallup said. "That represents steady improvement from a -1 score in 2009 and +20 in 2013."

It seems that oil is still king in Houston, and that low crude prices have had their effect on the area economy.

There is a silver lining for the bottom five metro areas on Gallup's pool, however.

"Although these five major metro areas trail most others in job creation, they still have relatively healthy job markets in an absolute sense, with many more workers in those areas reporting job gains than job losses where they work," the report stated.

— Image courtesy Gallup