half of the biggest US metropolitan areas have yet to recoup all the lost jobs f

http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2015/05/urban-average-is-over.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+marginalrevolution%2Ffeed+%28Marginal+Revolution%29#sthash.SAqbQxyu.dpuf—“Nearly half of the biggest US metropolitan areas have yet to recoup all the lost jobs from the Great Recession and almost a third have failed to return to previous levels of output, according to analysis that underscores the fragmenting urban fortunes beneath the surface of America’s recovery.

Research on 100 urban areas from the Brookings think-tank, reveals an economic patchwork in which the legacy of boom and bust hangs heavily over cities in Florida and inland California, while at the other end of the spectrum, technology and bioscience-focused cities such as Austin, Texas, San Francisco, and Raleigh, North Carolina have comfortably surpassed their previous peaks.

“This may be the norm now — extreme variation,” said Mark Muro, policy director for the Metropolitan Policy Program at Washington-based Brookings.”—

What Florida and California have in common is average: they attract a large number of people with average education and skills, income, etc. What Austin, San Francisco, and Raleigh (and Charlottesville et al.) have in common is above average: they attract a large number of people with above average education and skills, income, etc

I think the point is that economic returns are being disproportionately returned to the above average categories – whether by people or city.

– See more at: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2015/05/urban-average-is-over.html