Omaha's Economy Staying Strong

James Joyce ends his story “The Dead” with this memorable passage: “Snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves.”

Since December 2007, the United States and the rest of the world have been weathering a chill after the globe’s economic temperature took a downturn. While the fallout may be general across the world and the country, it is not uniform.

Among U.S. cities, for instance, Omaha has been spared the worst of the storm. While some Omaha businesses have cut jobs or have left positions unfilled, local unemployment is less than half of the national average of 9.4%.

The resilience of the Omaha job market suggests a sunnier forecast for those Creighton graduates who look for work in the Omaha area after graduate. It also means more opportunities to intern at thriving companies. Creighton alumni are starting their careers sooner and on surer footing than their peers in other parts of the country where the damage has been severe.

The media and think tanks have taken note:

Spared the worst? Recession not as rough for Omaha (June 17, 2009)

• This Omaha World-Herald story reports on the findings of the Brookings Institution’s MetroMonitor: Tracking Economic Recession and Recovery in America’s 100 Largest Metropolitan Areas.

Omaha: Businesses Touch Down in 'Flyover Country' (June 18, 2009)

• This BusinessWeek article describes Omaha’s continued appeal to businesses.

(The link image for this article of the color-coded U.S.A. comes from CNN's Economy Tracker, which gives a snapshot of the economy by state.)