El Paso's economy grew at a slow pace in the first quarter, but job growth continued to shine, the Brookings Institution's latest MetroMonitor shows.
El Paso's overall economic output grew 0.7 percent in the January-April quarter -- slightly better than the average 0.6 percent economic growth rate for the nation's 100 largest metro areas combined.
El Paso jobs grew 1.1 percent in the first quarter, compared to an average 0.5 percent average growth rate for the nation's 100 largest metros combined.
"Employment growth has been steady in El Paso," said Sid Kulkarni, a Brookings' research assistant and co-author of the MetroMonitor.
The strongest job growth in the first quarter and in the last four quarters were in: real estate services; trade, transportation and utilities; finance and insurance services; health-care services; and leisure and hospitality (hotels and restaurants).
El Paso had a less severe decline in employment during the recession than many other metro areas, and steady employment growth since the recession ended, Kulkarni said. El Paso's employment hit its recessionary low point at the end of 2007, Brookings reported.
El Paso's employment growth since the recession ended ranks 12th among the nation's 100 largest metro areas.
El Paso's overall recovery since the recession ranks 29th among the large metro areas, Brookings reported.
Brookings, a Washington D.C.,-based research and public-policy organization, has been tracking metro areas' economic performance for three years through its quarterly MetroMonitor reports.
El Paso ranked as one of the strongest metro economies during the recession in the Brookings' rankings. It has slipped to the second tier of metro areas in the recovery period.
