October 31, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Job growth in suburbs versus cities

It is well known that there exists a large disparity in the growth rates of employment in central cities and suburbs. The Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Maryland, areas provide striking examples of this.

Employment growth in Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD by area, March 1992-March 1999 (quarterly growth rate)
[Chart data—TXT]

In both Washington and Baltimore, the central cities experienced employment losses between March 1992 and March 1999. In contrast, both cities' suburbs had considerable employment growth over the period.

The BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program produced the data shown in the chart. Find more information in "Job creation and destruction within Washington and Baltimore," by R. Jason Faberman, Monthly Labor Review, September 2001.