Walter Pierce

Lafayette lands on Forbes ‘best' list

by Walter Pierce

More evidence that Lafayette will continue to ward off the bad economy still plaguing much of the nation: The Hub City comes in at No. 8 on Forbes Magazine’s list of the 10 best cities for new jobs.

To arrive at its list, Forbes enlisted Manpower, an employment services company, to survey 28,000 employers in the nation’s 201 metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Manpower measured the percentage of companies that expect to hire in the fourth quarter of 2009 as well as those that expect to fire workers to arrive at a net employment outlook. In Lafayette’s case, 16 percent of employers expect to hire new workers in the last three months of ’09 versus 9 percent that anticipate layoffs, giving Lafayette a net employment outlook of +9 percent.

Forbes Magazine’s 10 Best Cities for New Jobs

1. Lincoln, Neb.
2. Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, Wash.
3. Waco, Texas
4. Rochester, N.Y.
5. Columbus, Ga.-Ala.
6. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
7. York-Hanover, Penn.
8. Lafayette
9. Anchorage, Alaska
10. Sioux Falls, S.D.