In Most Cities, Growth is Only for the Few
Although all of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas added jobs and increased productivity between 2010 and 2015, that growth largely benefited wealthy and white residents, according to a new brief from the Brookings Institution. The Surprisingly Short List of U.S. Metro Areas Achieving Inclusive Economic Growth finds that of the 30 most prosperous metro areas from the past five years, just eight managed to improve economic outcomes for both whites and people of color. Metro areas that did achieve inclusive growth tended to balance growth in high-skilled sectors like IT and professional services with increases in good-paying medium-skilled jobs such as construction and health care, according to the brief.