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Washington D.C. tops list of Gallup good jobs rates for U.S. cities

Xinhua, March 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

For the third year in a row, Washington D.C. has ranked first among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas in the 2016 Gallup Good Jobs ratings, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.

State capitals once again filled the top slots after Washington D.C. All of the top six metro areas on the list include state capitals - or the nation's capital - and all have been in the top 10 rankings since Gallup began comparing the 50 most populous metro areas in 2014.

The other five metro areas on the list include the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin; Austin-Round Rock, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado, according to the poll. All of them have a strong technology presence within their metro area.

The poll comes as pockets of the country continue to struggle to make ends meet, even nearly a decade after the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

But for its part, Washington D.C. was not only able to avoid the sting of the recession, but is a place where jobs are plentiful, high-paying and easy to find. Many jobs are easily in the 100,000 U.S. dollars per year range.

The past year had its share of positive economic news for the United States, including a rising stock market, low unemployment and a boost to Gallup's job creation index.

The Gallup good jobs rates for 2016 reflected the labor force increase, with many of the nation's largest cities and surrounding areas showing solid gains.

In addition to the top six, other metro areas generally did well in the rankings. Those include Seattle, San Jose, California and Boston, which all made it into the top 20, Gallup found.

State capitals also tended to fare well in this broader group. Sixteen of the 50 largest metros are state capitals -- of these, 10 ranked in the top 20, and only three were in the bottom 20, Gallup said.

The top ranking for Washington D.C. is the result of several factors. A heavy concentration of federal workers and those whose jobs are closely connected to the federal government allowed the D.C. area to weather the 2008-2009 economic crash, Gallup found. Endit