By several measures, the U.S. economy is in a precarious state, and warning signs of an impending recession loom. The U.S. Federal Reserve has taken a step aimed at boosting the economy earlier this year by cutting interest rates, with more cuts expected before the end of the year. Still, after years of economic growth, at least one area of the economy appears to remain strong: the labor market. 

Over the last five years, employment has climbed by 7.3% in the United States. The net increase in jobs has resulted in a steady decline in unemployment, from 6.1% in June 2014 to 3.7% in June 2019, nearly the lowest it has been since the 1960s. 

Job growth has not been even across the country, however, and some cities are adding jobs at a much faster rate than others. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed total employment changes from June 2014 to June 2019 in 381 metro areas to identify the cities adding the most jobs in every state. 

In a written exchange with 24/7 Wall St., Martin Kohli, chief regional economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, explained that population growth can drive up overall employment. “Housing construction will generally be stronger in areas with above-average population growth,” Kohli said — and many of the cities on this list have fast growing populations. Here is a full list of America’s fastest growing cities.

Due in part to population growth, industries like construction, education, and health care services are growing faster than every other industry in many cities on this list. 

While nearly every state has at least one city that has added jobs over the last five years, there are exceptions. No metro area in Alaska or Wyoming reported a net increase in overall employment since 2014. “These two states have historically had large concentrations of employment in mining,” Kohli said. And over the last five years, overall employment in the mining and logging industry has dropped by 14.9%. These are America’s dying industries.

Click here to see the cities adding the most jobs in every state
Click here to read our methodology