From the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Atlanta fourth-highest in recession job losses:
Of the 100 largest American cities, Atlanta had the fourth-highest private-sector job losses from September 2007 through September 2011, according to an On Numbers analysis of new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The city went from 2,133,200 jobs in September 2007 to 1,925,100 jobs in September 2010 — a loss of 208,100 and a decline of 9.8 percent. Only Los Angeles, Chicago and New York lost more private-sector jobs during the period.
Also from the ABC’s Harris Poll: Atlanta a less desirable place to live:
Between Oct. 10 and 17, Harris Poll surveyed online 2,463 American adults, asking them: “If you could live in or near any city in the country except the one you live in or nearest to now, which would you choose?†Atlanta ranked 15th out of 15 cities in 2011, compared with seventh in 2010.
Granted, that Harris poll raises all sorts of questions — why only include 15 cities? have the respondents actually been to any of them? — but the poll nevertheless would seem to provide an interesting snapshot of Americans’ current perceptions of major cities.
I’ve written off and on here about the disconnect between Atlanta and the rest of the state. Georgia’s state government has often not made logical choices, especially in terms of transit and transportation, that would help Atlanta prosper.