U.S. METRO AREAS AS ENGINES OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
WHEREAS, The United States Conference of Mayors and the Council for Investment in the New
American City have documented that U.S. metro areas are the engines of the American economy,
generating 84 percent of the nation's employment and 88.3 percent of labor income; and
WHEREAS, through its U.S. Metro Economy series, the Conference and the Council have
created a new, national economic measure for the nation's 319 metro areas called Gross
Metropolitan Product, which documents that U.S. metro areas contribute over 85 percent of the
nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP); and
WHEREAS, over the last decade, U.S. metro areas accounted for over 86 percent, $3.9 trillion,
of the nation's economic growth; and
WHEREAS, U.S. metro economies also dominate state economies, with 16 metro areas
accounting for over 50 percent of the output in the state in which they are located, with an
additional 28 U.S. metros accounting for over 25 percent of their states output; and
WHEREAS, through this documentation it is clear that the national economy can not recover
unless the nation's metro economies begin to grow and produce jobs; and
WHEREAS, in their June Employment Outlook, the Conference and the Council reported that the
nation's metros lost over $1.15 million jobs in 2002, with 206 metros experiencing net job loss;
and
WHEREAS, many metro areas saw large employment declines also in 2001, ranging from the
manufacturing centers (Detroit, 55,000 jobs lost) to high technology (Seattle, 15,000 jobs lost);
and
WHEREAS, the nation has lost more than 2.5 million jobs over the last two and one-half years,
and continues to lose jobs at an alarming rate,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors
commends the Council for Investment in the New American City and its corporate and non-profit
members for developing the Metro Economy Series and calls on them to promote the series
nationwide to academia, the media, public leaders and the general public to educate them on the
importance of U.S. metro areas to the economic growth of the nation and its citizenry; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors calls on the
Council to expand the Metro Economic Report series to further document how important U.S.
metro economies are to individual state economies; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council continue to identify and develop strategies to
remove barriers to capital formation and investment in cities; promote innovative approaches to
increased home ownership and financial literacy among urban residents; encourage public/private
partnerships in environmental infrastructure; increase the availability of financial services to urban
residents; and promote commercial investment in cities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council work with its members to further promote and
document the competitiveness of America's cities as new places to invest and live.
©2003 U.S. Conference of Mayors 
