An Insiders Perspective

The Best Cities for Riding Out a Recession

Real Estate News October 14, 2008, 11:24AM EST

Oct. 13's 937-point surge in the Dow notwithstanding, the economic crisis has left Americans—even those with no obvious connection to Wall Street—wondering about their own future. The 401(k)s of many Americans are still on shaky ground, foreclosures are spiking, and employers in big cities and small towns alike are struggling to adapt to a new environment of tight credit and feeble consumer spending...

...Other local economies, those dominated by stable industries, could be relatively well-cushioned. BusinessWeek.com worked with data from PolicyMap.com, a demographics and data site run by Philadelphia's Reinvestment Fund, to identify the best places to live during a recession. We looked at places where large portions of the population worked in anticyclical industries such as government, health care, education, agriculture, and legal services.

Baton Rouge, La.

Share of jobs in strong industries: 40.5%
Number of workers: 103,320
Metro area unemployment rate: 5%
Agriculture jobs: 0.63%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical jobs (legal, accounting etc.): 7.30%
Education jobs: 13.83%
Health-care jobs: 11.31%
Public Administration (Government) jobs: 7.44%

Baton Rouge, the state capital and home to Louisiana State University and Southern University at Baton Rouge, is thriving. Firms are rushing to use special financing for post-Katrina hurricane recovery work. About $6.5 billion in construction activity is underway (compared with about $750 million in a typical year), including a new refinery, chemical plant, and road projects. And like many Louisiana cities, it isn't dependent on the weak durable goods sector. LSU economics professor Loren C. Scott projects the city will see an increase of 2,400 jobs next year or about .06% of the workforce.

New Orleans, La.

Share of jobs in strong industries: 40%
Number of workers: 101,752
Metro area unemployment rate: 4.7%
Agriculture jobs: 1.21%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical jobs (legal, accounting etc.): 7.17%
Education jobs: 12.23%
Health-care jobs: 13.50%
Public Administration (Government) jobs: 5.85%

New Orleans has plenty of challenges as it recovers from 2005's Hurricane Katrina. The population has shrunk, putting pressure on university enrollments and hospitals. And tourism is way down. But the unemployment rate remains low. The city's banks, which did not make a large number of risky loans during the housing boom, are relatively healthy. And firms are investing heavily in construction projects in the city, rebuilding levies and building a new refinery.

For the complete article and complete list of 'Best Cities': http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/oct2008/bw20081014_006902_page_2.htm