Top 10 Cities Decimated by the Global Recession

Top 10 Metropolitan Regions Destroyed by the Global Recession

10. Richmond, Virginia, United States 

Rank:	City:	Change in Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income per Capita	GDP	Population:
10	Richmond	-1%	+0.2%	$48,083	$61 billion	1.27 million

 

Although not the largest of cities on this list, Richmond kicks off the list as the first American city to be crushed by the global recession. And statistically so, Richmond experienced the 10th slowest economic growth among the world's largest cities last year. Due to the city relying heavily on government jobs – more than one in six jobs-- employment dropped 1% between 2010 and 2011. During that same time the U.S.'s employment rate increased nearly the same amount, and is one of the few areas that continues to worsen on the national level. Also, being a port city, Richmond relies on international trade coming in and out of their large waterway. Though due to lack of trade from the slowed global economy, Richmond has a treacherous climb out of this recession.

9. Valencia, Spain

Rank:	City:	Change in Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income per Capita	GDP	Population:
9	Valencia	-0.9%	-0.2%	$23,165	$59 billion	2.56 million

 

Valencia is one of only 12 large cities in the world to experience a decline in both income and employment last year. Part of the European countries associated with economic struggles known as PIGS, Spain has been decimated by unemployment. More so than most other Eurozone nations actually. But of the metro, eurozone areas, Valencia has seen the worst of it, as employment in the country dropped by a disastrous 10%.

 

8. Barcelona, Spain 

Rank:	City:	Change in Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income per Capita	GDP	Population:
8	Barcelona	-1.2%	+0.2%	$29,767	$162 billion	5.43 million

 

Barcelona, one of the country's most prideful regions, has been slammed by Spain's hapless economy. The metropolitan region experienced significantly strong growth with a pre-recession boom between 1997 and 2007, carried on the shoulders of housing construction. The employment increased an average of 3.3% per year which was one of the highest rates in Europe. Then the recession hit and now Barcelona remains one of the slowest growing cities in the world, with a 1.2% drop in employment between 2010 and 2011 and income barely moving again.

7. Naples, Italy 

Rank:	City:	Change in Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income per Capita	GDP	Population:
7	Naples	-1.1%	-0.1%	$17,723	$70 billion	3.98 million

 

Strict austerity measures have nearly brought Italy back into another recession, and Naples has seen the worst of it. Between 2008 and 2009, employment decreased by 3.7% and an additional 1.8% the following year. Between 2010 and 2011, employment slumped another 1.1%, even while national employment in Italy actually increased just a little. From Brookings: “Venice-padova posted modest growth in income and employment thanks to a strengthening business and financial services sector, ranking it 130th overall.” Meanwhile, Naples “shed jobs and stagnated on income, ranking it 194th overall.”

 

6. Madrid, Spain 

Rank:	City:	Change in Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income per Capita	GDP	Population:
6	Madrid	-1.4%	+0.1%	$33,208	$212 billion	6.4 million

 

The Spanish capital, Madrid, mirrored it's fellow city Barcelona with a large pre-recession growth between 1993 to 2007. The employment was growing at an even higher rate than the Catalonia city to the north, at an annual rate of 3.7%. Between 2008 and 2009, it dropped 5.7% and has since slipped an additional 2%. Income dropped more than 5% between 2008 and 2010. And it doesn't look any better for Madrid as the government announced the first round of austerity measures to be imposed, which will immediate impact hundreds of thousands of government employees in Madrid.

5. Sacramento, California, United States 

Rank:	City:	Change in Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income per Capita	GDP	Population:
5	Sacremento, CA	-1%	-0.8%	$42,283	$92 billion	2.18 million

The Spanish capital mirrored much of it's fellow city Barcelona with a large pre-recession growth between 1993 to 2007. The employment was growing at an even higher rate than the Catalonia city to the north, at an annual rate of 3.7%. Between 2008 and 2009, it dropped 5.7% and has since slipped an additional 2%. Income dropped more than 5% between 2008 and 2010. And it doesn't look any better for Madrid as the government announced the first round of austerity measures to be imposed, which will immediate impact hundreds of thousands of government employees in Madrid.

 

 

 

Surprisingly enough, not Detroit nor Cleveland land on this list, thanks in part to the slowest-growing city in North America, Sacremento. The capital city of California is similar to it's American counterpart, Richmond, and previous Madrid, as it has a substantial amount of government workers, which due to regional austerity measures specifically in California, were some of the hardest hit labor forces over the past couple of years. More than one in four nonfarm jobs in the region are public servants. The city grew before the recession at nearly double the level of the rest of the nation. Much of this is due to San Fransisco residents moving into it's neighbor capital city. Brookings says “60 percent of the decline in employment [in the city] originated in local/non-market services, of which government employment accounts for about half.”

4. Seville, Spain

Rank:	City:	Change in Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income per Capita	GDP	Population:
4	Seville	-2%	-0.3%	$20,166	$38 billion	1.86 million

 

Between 1993 and 2007, just like the rest of Spain's largest cities, Seville's employment increased, at a rate of 3% per year. At the same time, income increased by 2.7% a year. Just before the recession employment spiked heavily to a monsterous 8.1% but income fell 5.5%, the following next year employment slipped again, this time by an additional 2.4% and income as well by 1.2%. Long-term economic troubles are a given when the nation's four largest cities are among the world's slowest growing metro areas. Be on the watch for Spain's continued slump.

3. Dublin, Ireland

Rank:	City:	Change in Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income per Capita	GDP	Population:
3	Dublin	-3%	-0.3%	$55,578	$95 billion	1.72 million

 

Ireland is the typical story of the brightest star-- of the EU nations-- fizzling out. The years leading up to the recession couldn't have gotten much sweeter for Ireland as new companies were being adding more rapidly than anywhere else in Europe. Employment rose in Dublin at 4.3% per year between 1993 and 2007, while the median income increased at 5.6% a year (both record-high growth rates in Europe). Much of this growth came from the Irish housing market (where some of the world's richest entrepreneurs grew their riches). But the recession destroyed the housing market like a recking ball to brick. Dublin was the only metro region still in absolute recession between 2009 and 2010, as income dropped 1.8% and employment fell at the world's-worst 4%.

2. Lisbon, Portugal

Rank:	City:	Change In Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income per Capita	GDP	Population:
2	Lisbon	-2.4%	-2.8%	$24,194	$69 billion	2.84 million

 

The battle for which country will reach crisis level following Greece's utter collapse continues to wage on. Many say Ireland, others Spain, but by the looks of the Brookings report, Portugal seems like the darkhorse to put your money on (in gambling purposes, not financially). Before the recession, Portugal's employment was not overwhelmingly amazing, only 0.8% growth per year. But the fallout, specifically for Lisbon, was massive as it currently has the second-worst declining metropolitan economy in the world: “Similar to Dublin and Athens, Lisbon's economy suffers because of poor national and regional macroeconomic conditions. Unable to finance its budget deficit on commercial financial markets, Portugal sought and obtained a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.” Strict austerity measures were put in place because of the IMF required them, which added fuel to the flame for Lisbon's already morbid economy.

1. Athens, Greece

Rank:	City:	Change in Employment (10-11)	Change in Income (10-11)	Income Per Capita	GDP	Population:
1	Athens	-3.5%	-4.85%	$24,585	$102 Million	4.14 million

 

No surprise here, the Greek capital, Athens, has been the butt of the world's jokes lately, as it is ground zero of the European fiscal crisis. Greece continues on the verge of an economic collapse even after being shot with an international bailout and pressing austerity measures. Nothing seems to cure this ailment and it's getting no better. Restructuring of the Greek debt failed recently and income continues to drop, now more than 10%. Between 2009 and 2010, it fell 6% and an additional 4.7% between 2010 and 2011. Both figures took the crown for worst in the world. But don't forget, employment also declined by 3.5% during that same time. Also the world's worst. Well now Athen's can take another title: “The Most Decimated City Following the Global Recession”... but sadly, we already knew that.

* Content from 24/7 Wall St.