Like most Americans, we can't resist the urge to rank things. College football teams, best baseball player ever, greatest rock band of all time are all questions of great subjectivity (the Buckeyes, the Babe, and the Beatles, in case you were wondering—JMO). Combining rankings with actual data is a bit more objective.

For example, we wanted to compare and rank how metro areas in the region were recovering in terms of employment, focusing on seasonally adjusted data. We compared the most recent month where data was available (July) with the most recent trough in employment for each metro area in the Sixth District where seasonally adjusted data were available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The metro region that has experienced the largest increase in private sector employment since its trough is Panama City, Fla., with an increase of 3.49 percent. Second is Hattiesburg, Miss., with a gain of 3.28 percent. Tied for last place are Auburn-Opelika, Ala.; Montgomery, Ala.; Gainesville, Ga.; and Nashville, Tenn. Total employment in these metro areas remains at the lowest levels experienced during the recession.

Here are the complete rankings:

Rank Metro area % change in total employment since trough
1 Panama City-Lynn Haven, FL 3.49
2 Hattiesburg, MS 3.28
3 Rome, GA 3.13
4 Warner Robins, GA 3.10
5 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA 2.92
6 Tuscaloosa, AL 2.64
7 Augusta-Richmond ,GA-SC 2.46
8 Punta Gorda, FL 2.32
9 Albany, GA 2.29
10 Macon, GA 2.22
11 Johnson City, TN 1.98
12 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL 1.81
13 Chattanooga, TN-GA 1.74
14 Lafayette, LA 1.66
15 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 1.65
16 Cleveland, TN 1.55
17 Savannah, GA 1.53
18 Naples-Marco Island, FL 1.40
19 Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 1.40
20 Ocala, FL 1.33
21 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA 1.31
22 Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL 1.29
23 Gainesville, FL 1.26
24 Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL 1.21
25 Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL   1.17
26 Valdosta, GA 1.14
27 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 1.09
28 Brunswick, GA 0.97
29 Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL 0.93
30 Orlando, FL 0.92
31 Huntsville, AL 0.92
32 Morristown, TN 0.92
33 Tallahassee, FL 0.88
34 Clarksville, TN-KY 0.87
35 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 0.85
36 Anniston-Oxford, AL 0.81
37 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 0.81
38 Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce, FL 0.68
39 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 0.66
40 Baton Rouge, LA 0.66
41 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA 0.66
42 Knoxville, TN 0.63
43 Gadsden, AL 0.57
44 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL 0.57
45 Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL 0.57
46 Dothan, AL 0.53
47 Alexandria, LA 0.47
48 Jacksonville, FL 0.42
49 Jackson, MS 0.36
50 Columbus, GA-AL 0.34
51 Dalton, GA 0.31
52 Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 0.28
53 Mobile, AL 0.23
54 Decatur, AL 0.19
55 Athens-Clarke, GA 0.12
56 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 0.02
57 Auburn-Opelika, AL 0.00
58 Montgomery, AL 0.00
59 Gainesville, GA 0.00
60 Nashvlle-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN 0.00
     
  Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, FRB Atlanta


By Michael Chriszt, an assistant vice president in the Atlanta Fed's research department, and Amy Ellingson, an analyst in the research department