Twin Cities Leads Midwest in Economic Recovery
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Twin Cities economy is faring better than the other major metropolitan areas in the Midwest.
That's according to new data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Minneapolis-St. Paul's economic output grew 1.5 percent between 2008 and 2011, while Chicago, Detroit and most of the region's other big cities lost ground.
Unemployment in Minneapolis-St. Paul is at 5.1 percent, compared with a national average of 7.9 percent.
The $207.8 billion economy of the Twin Cities accounts for about three-quarters of Minnesota's economic output. Before the downturn from 2001 to 2007, the area's economy grew at an average rate of 1.9 percent, a pace of growth to which it returned in 2011.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.