Following Orlando was Salt Lake City; Austin, Texas; Louisville, Ky.; and San Francisco.
Orlando, which is known for its theme parks, has recently experienced strong hiring growth in the hospitality and leisure sector — the greatest source of jobs in the area, according to Gallup. San Francisco has been known a major technology hub, and Austin and Salt Lake City have gained technology jobs in recent years also, Gallup said. Technology and healthcare are two of the major drivers of job growth in the Louisville area.
These results are based on interviewing in 2015. Last year, Gallup interviewed at least 730 working adults in each of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, with more than 1,000 interviews conducted in 39 of the 50, asking employed Americans whether their place of employment is hiring workers and expanding the size of its workforce, letting workers go and reducing the size of its workforce, or not changing.
Metro areas were given a Job Creation Index score based on the percentage of workers who said their employer is hiring minus the percentage who said their employer is letting workers go.
Here are the highest Job Creation Index scores among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas.
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. +45
Salt Lake City +43
Austin-Round Rock, Texas +41
Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind. +40
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. +40
Hartford, Conn., and Providence, R.I., rank last among the top metro areas. Both areas have seen well-paying manufacturing jobs leave their state and have struggled to regain them or replace them with similar types of employment, according to Gallup. Oklahoma City and New Orleans have seen their job markets hurt by plunging gas prices.
Here are the lowest Job Creation Index scores among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas
Hartford-East Hartford-West Hartford, Conn. +21
Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. +22
Oklahoma City, Okla. +25
New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Penn. +25
New Orleans-Metairie, La. +25
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