Forbes magazine: Mobile poised for recovery

Mobile has been named by Forbes magazine as one of the "Best Cities in America for Recession Recovery."

The rankings take into account the projected gross domestic product, unemployment figures, incomes and affordability.

"We've been saying that all along," said Don Epley, director of the University of South Alabama's Center for Real Estate Studies, which has been tracking the local economy for two years.

He said that he has published reports indicating that the recession would be slow to hit Mobile, and "we will be fast to recover."

Huntsville was also included on the Forbes list.

"This is a great mention for our city," Mobile Mayor Sam Jones said in a written statement. "Though it's good to be mentioned as one of the best cities to rebound from the recession, we do so with caution, realizing that we must continue to be very conservative with our spending."

City Council President Reggie Copeland said the ranking by the business magazine is a testament to the cooperative working relationship of local and state leaders.

"How proud we are," Copeland said Friday afternoon. "Anytime we get an honor like that, it's awesome. I'm proud for the mayor."

Last year, Forbes magazine named Mobile as the fastest-growing mid-size city in America. Mobile has also been recognized as a "Top 50 Place to Live and Play" by National Geographic.

Forbes examined GDP data from Moody's Economy.com; unemployment and employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; affordability information from the National Association of Homebuilders; and population statistics from the Census Bureau.

Forbes reported, however, that it did not factor home prices into the ranking, since economically healthy cities were typically spared severe harm from the U.S. housing market collapse.

The Forbes story said that Seattle and Boulder, Colo., with their high-tech capabilities, could experience rapid recovery in coming months.

The other cities and metropolitan areas named by Forbes that are poised to bounce back quickly from the recession are: the Austin-Round Rock area in Texas; Fayetteville, Ark.; San Antonio, Texas; the Dallas-Forth Worth-Arlington area in Texas; the Washington DC- Arlington-Alexandria, Va. area; and the McAllen-Edinburg area in Texas.

Leigh Perry Herndon, vice president of communications for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, said rankings like these are important. "It reinforces to our community that the work the chamber is doing in partnership with others is having an impact nationally and internationally," she said.

For the past decade, Herndon said, local leaders and agencies have sought to diversify the Mobile area's economic base "so we are not dependent on one industry for the success or failure of the region."

That focus, she said, includes shipbuilding, aerospace, oil and gas exploration, transportation distribution, health care and manufacturing.