By David Gatton
February 6, 2006

The nation’s 361 metro areas accounted for a staggering 86.3 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2004, producing over $10.1 trillion or the first time, according to a report released by The United States Conference of Mayors at its 74th Winter Meeting in Washington, (DC), January 27.

Metros grew by 4.4 percent in inflation-adjusted terms in 2004, their fastest growth in the decade, and outpaced the nation’s overall growth rate of 4.2 percent. Fifty-two percent of metros grew faster than the nation.

The report also showed that metros accounted for 89.7 percent of the nation’s labor income and 85.6 percent of employment.

In releasing the report, Conference President Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill said, “U.S. metros are the crown jewels of our prosperity. We must spread the message every day that a strong America means strong metro economies,” alluding to her major theme that cities are the cornerstone of a Strong America.

The reports shows the strong role U.S. metros play in the global economy. When comparing metro areas to nations, out of the top 100 economies in the world, 42 are U.S. metro areas. New York now ranks as the 10th largest economy in the world; Los Angeles-Long Beach as the 18th, and Chicago 19th. When compared with states, the top ten U.S. metros produce more economically than 35 states combined.

“These are truly astounding rankings,” O’Neill told the mayors, “and this is why we must proactively support the future growth of U.S. metros through policies that are equal to their importance to the nation and to the global economy.”

But the report was not without its warning signs.

Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, who chairs the Conference’s Council for the New American City, reviewed findings of the report that showed a 21 percent wage gap between jobs the economy produced during the recovery and those it had lost during the recession. From 2001-2003, the average wage of the top ten employment sectors that lost jobs was $43,629, compared to a wage of only $34,378 in those sectors that gained jobs from 2003-2005.

Kilpatrick said, “This wage gap is real and of significant concern. We need our national leadership to develop a set of policies that begin to help employers and employees prepare for global competition. This is no longer theoretical.”

In addition, the report shows that labor markets across the country have not regained their jobs uniformly, even though by the end of 2004 metro areas as a whole had regained all of the jobs lost during the 2001 recession. Ninety-nine metros are not forecasted to recover their lost jobs until after 2006, with many of those not reaching 2001 employment levels until the end of the decade or until 2015.

The report, entitled U.S. Metro Economies: GMP—The Engines of America’s Growth can be found on www.usmayors.org, and contains the gross metropolitan product numbers for the nation’s 361 metros. The report is sponsored the by the Conference’s Council for the New American City.