National employment recovery forecast shows Myrtle Beach leading nation in 2012

We're at the top of another national list– this time it's actually a good one.

As a part of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ US Metro Economy series of studies, the economic analysis group IHS Global Insight prepared a 2012 forecast for job growth in over 360 metro markets. While in 2011 approximately two-thirds of the markets studied showed some growth, IHS is predicting all of the markets will see positive gain in jobs with little ole' us leading the way with a 3% payroll expansion. You can view the full report here.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors took the release of the study as an opportunity to criticize the government for their lack of action in 2011. 

“The economic recovery is too slow, and it is a direct result of the inaction of this Congress in 2011,” saidLos Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the President of the US Conference of Mayors (USCM), in a speech to the non-partisan organization’s 80th Winter Meeting. “If we gave the 112th Congress a mid-term report card, the grade would be clear. Congress would get an ‘F.’”

You can see the full press release here. It's great to see some positive news on the economic front. But keep in mind our area was hit really hard by the real estate bubble and it makes sense that we might bounce back quicker than some larger metro areas with more diverse economies. Here's some more Myrtle Beach statistics pulled from the report:

  • Myrtle Beach, SC is projected to have a 3.0% payroll expansion, 50% of the metro areas will at least match average of 1.3% growth in 2012, and the remaining 179 metros will all show positive growth between 0.1% and 1.3%
  • Median household income for the Myrtle Beach metro area has dropped from $43,000 in 2007 to $41, 600 in 2010 (ranked 228 out of 363)
  • Myrtle Beach carries 6.6% of the South Carolina's employment. That puts us 8 in the top 10. The top 3 are Anderson, Augusta, and Charleston.
  • Median house prices fell from $124,688 in 2010 to $104,920 in 2011. (ranked 360 out of 363)

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