Michigan's High-Tech Hope: Ann Arbor's economy shines

[egrguy]

Interesting article regarding AA and its ability to keep its head above water while the rest of the state drowns.

If we can simply build on this we'd be in better shape.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...2/1019/BUSINESS

[GRDadof3]

Ouch. Ann Arbor added a modest 900 jobs last year?

As job losses in other cities contribute to the state's high unemployment rate, Ann Arbor stands out in attracting companies and employees.

The University of Michigan -- its students, hospital and research -- has drawn businesses for years, helping to establish a diverse economy.

Those strengths couldn't stem the 7,800 post-recession jobs Washtenaw County lost between 2002 and 2004. But they have helped the county post modest job gains -- 900 jobs last year -- about four years before Michigan is expected to experience job growth, according to U-M economics professor George Fulton.

Maybe we shouldn't build off of their "success". Now let's substitute Grand Rapids' job picture in place of Ann Arbor's in this article:

As job losses in other cities contribute to the state's high unemployment rate, Grand Rapids stands out in attracting companies and employees...

Those strengths couldn't stem the 4900 post-recession jobs Grand Rapids Metro gained between 2002 and 2004. But they have helped the area post modest job gains -- 16,700 jobs last year -- and over 32,000 new jobs since hitting bottom during the recession in 03 --

We're in rough shape if the Freep thinks 900 jobs is "modest". It's downright anemic.

[wolverine]

Why even bother to compare apples to oranges. We are two completely different cities. Except one of us is stuck a region with serious economic problems. It's going to take a lot more effort to bring in companies to this struggling region and IMO we are doing a great job. Sure they aren't all that big, but what can you do when the largest area employers are American Automakers and the hundreds of companies attached to them. It's a domino effect. But I consider what has happened thus far to be impressive despite the horrible economic climate of our region. Thank you for your stats, a round of applause, now please be seated.

[GRDadof3]

Why even bother to compare apples to oranges. We are two completely different cities. Except one of us is stuck a region with serious economic problems. It's going to take a lot more effort to bring in companies to this struggling region and IMO we are doing a great job. Sure they aren't all that big, but what can you do when the largest area employers are American Automakers and the hundreds of companies attached to them. It's a domino effect. But I consider what has happened thus far to be impressive despite the horrible economic climate of our region. Thank you for your stats, a round of applause, now please be seated.

I'm sorry Wolverine. I was not criticizing Ann Arbor, and I understand how inextricably linked it is to the automotive industry. I was criticizing the Free Press for a non-story. Maybe they're just trying to show any kind of optimism they can find.