Top 10 metros for job growth

Some metropolitan areas have a booming jobs market, thanks to energy, manufacturing, or sometimes just the right mix of highly diversified industries. Here's a look at the 10 metros that have seen the largest percentage increase in jobs over the past 12 months:

5. Pascagoula, Miss.: +6.4 percent

Mike Brantley/The Mississippi Press/AP/File
The newly constructed US Navy ship America can be seen from the opposite river bank during the vessel's christening ceremony in October 2012 at the Huntington Ingalls shipyard facilities in Pascagoula, Miss. The Pascagoula port is home to some of the region's largest employers.

Energy development and construction are helping Pascagoula recover from a still high 8.5 percent unemployment rate. The mining, logging, and construction sector is providing the biggest boost in jobs, with a whopping 29 percent increase. Much of that boom is construction work from Chevron's $1.4 billion refinery expansion. When finished late in 2013, the Pascagoula facility will be the world's largest producer of premium base oil, the principal ingredient in synthetic motor oil. One of the metro's largest employers, VT Halter Marine, is also expanding. Its ship-repair facility is expected to add 400 jobs at the Port of Pascagoula – Mississippi's largest port. 

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