Focusing on national aggregates, however, overlooks the fact that just as the American economy is not the same everywhere, neither is the recovery. The U.S. economy’s performance is driven largely by that of its major metropolitan economies, some of which are recovering and some of which are still in recession. Several of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas posted signs of robust economic growth in the third quarter of 2009, most showed a mixed though improving performance across their headline indicators, and some remained mired in recession with no signs that recovery is around the corner. BROOKINGS
