Springs ranks 41st among nation’s 100 biggest cities

Colorado Springs’ economic performance amid the recession ranks No. 41 of the 100 largest U.S. cites, according to a Brookings Institution study about the economic downturn’s impact on urban America.

Denver ranked No. 39.

In its “Metro Monitor” report, released this week, the Brookings Institute assessed how the recession has affected big-city employment, wages, gross metropolitan product, housing prices and foreclosure rates.

The primary conclusion was that the recession has had very different impacts on cities. As a result, an economic recovery will likely vary from region to region or city to city.

“All metropolitan areas are feeling the effects of this recession, but the distress is not shared equally,” Alan Berube, research director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Washington-based Brookings and co-author of the report, said in a statement.

“While some areas of the country have experienced only a shallow downturn, and may be emerging from the recession already, people living in metro areas that are now performing weakest economically should prepare themselves for a long recovery period,” Berube said.

The overall rankings were based on four factors:

• Change in employment from the peak quarter to the first quarter of 2009.
• Change in the unemployment rate from March 2008 to March 2009.
• Change in gross metro product from the peak quarter to the first quarter of 2009.
• Change in housing prices from Q1 2008 to Q1 2009.

Colorado Springs showed a 3.9 percent drop in unemployment from the peak quarter to first quarter 2009. The unemployment rate increased by 3 percent. The gross metro product fell from the peak quarter by 2.1 percent and housing prices declined by 0.9 percent on a year-over-year basis.