The Brookings Institution's latest MetroMonitor shows continuing growth in most metropolitan US markets, but the rate of growth is slowing as the labor market struggles continue.  Here's a look at the employment picture across metro areas:

From the report:

Seventy-three of the 100 largest metropolitan areas had job growth in the first quarter of 2011, up from 67 in the fourth quarter of 2010 and 35 in the third quarter of 2010.  However, the number of large metropolitan areas with job growth fell short of its recent high of 94, achieved in the second quarter of 2010.  Moreover, the rate of job growth in the first quarter, 0.3 percent for the 100 largest metropolitan areas combined, was very low, equivalent to only a 1.2 percent job annual job growth rate, which is too low to keep the unemployment rate from rising.

Twenty large metropolitan areas gained jobs in all of the last four quarters.  Austin, Charleston, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Milwaukee, New Haven, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Provo, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Toledo, Washington, and Youngstown gained jobs in every quarter from the second quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2011.  Thirty-two more metropolitan areas gained jobs in both the last quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011.

Seventy-seven of the 100 largest metropolitan areas lost a greater share of jobs 13 quarters after the start of the Great Recession (the fourth quarter of 2007) than they did during the first 13 quarters after the start of any of the previous three national recessions.  Thirteen quarters after the start of the national recession, the 100 largest metropolitan areas combined had lost 5.3 percent of the jobs they had at the start of the Great Recession that began in 2007, compared to 1.1 percent for the 2001 recession.  However, in the 1981–1982 recession, employment in the 100 largest metropolitan areas had grown by 6.3 percent in the first 13 quarters after the start of the national recession and in the 1990–1991 recession it had grown by 0.5 percent.

Report author Howard Wial discusses some of the key findings in this short video:

Brookings has several interactive maps in support of the MetroMonitor report.  You can access them here.  And read the full report here.