The 11 Worst-Performing Cities in America

When you graduate, you will (hopefully) have the option to move to a new city and take on an exciting job. Just make sure to consider the local economies in the areas you might move to... and avoid these cities at all costs.

While the U.S. recovery creeps forward, some cities are getting left behind.

We identified the weakest economic recoveries based on the latest MetroMonitor from the Brookings Institute, which looks at employment, unemployment, production, and home prices. They're located in places like upstate New York, where the initial housing crash was less dramatic, but the slowdown more prolonged.

Flickr/Shannon Frost#1 Little Rock, Arkansas

-- Unemployment rate down 0.7 percentage points since 2011Q3
-- Employment up 0.7% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 2.9% since 2010Q1
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Flickr Creative Commons/Nicholas_T#2 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

-- Unemployment rate down 0.9 percentage points since 2010Q1
-- Employment down 1.2% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 1.5% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Wikipedia#3 Virginia Beach, Virginia

-- Unemployment down 1.1 percentage points since 2010Q1
-- Employment up 1.5% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 1.0% since 2012Q1
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Wikimedia Commons#4 Albany, New York

-- Unemployment hit a new high in 2012Q2
-- Employment up 1.7% since 2011Q1
-- Gross metro product up 5.0% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Flickr/dougtone#5 Buffalo, New York
-- Unemployment hit a new high in 2012Q2
-- Employment up 1.8% since 2009Q4
-- Gross metro product up 5.1% since 2009Q2
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q




Flickr/MikeSheridan89#6 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

-- Unemployment rate down 0.7 percentage points since 2010Q1
-- Employment up 1.4% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 3.4% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Flickr/shchukin#7 Honolulu, Hawaii

-- Unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points since 2009Q4
-- Employment up 2.5% since 2009Q4
-- Gross metro product up 3.6% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




#8 Jackson, Mississippi

-- Unemployment rate is down 1.3 percentage points since 2010Q1
-- Employment up 1.8% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 1.0% since 2009Q3
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




AP#9 Syracuse, New York

-- Unemployment hit a new high in 2012Q2
-- Employment up 1.8% since 2010Q1
-- Gross metro product up 6.5% since 2009Q2
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




#10 Poughkeepsie, New York

-- Unemployment hit a new high in 2012Q2
-- Employment up 2.2% since 2009Q3
-- Gross metro product up 6.1% since 2009Q2
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1




Wikimedia Commons#11 Albuquerque, New Mexico

-- Unemployment down 1.4 percentage points since 2010Q3
-- Employment at a new low in 2012Q2
-- Gross metro product up 5.0% since 2008Q2
-- Home prices at a new low in 2012Q1





Data provided by the Brookings' MetroMonitor. Gross Metro Product and Home Prices are tracked from Trough to 2012Q2. Unemployment and Employment are tracked from Trough to 2012Q1.

Original post: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-11-worst-performing-cities-in-america.html