Sept. 11 terror attacks to cost Atlanta more than 32,000 jobs

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Posted 12:49PM on Friday, January 11, 2002

LOS ANGELES - Which cities in the U.S. will suffer the biggest job losses as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks? According to a new study from the Milken Institute, some of this country's biggest tourist destinations -- Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, Orlando and Honolulu -- and its biggest cities -- New York, Los Angeles and Chicago -- will suffer heavy job losses as a direct result of the Sept. 11 attacks. Percentage-wise, Las Vegas will suffer more than any other metro in the country in 2002. It is expected to have nearly 5 percent fewer jobs this year than it would have had without the terrorist attacks, the study found. Myrtle Beach, S.C., is second, with a projected loss of 3.6 percent, and New York City -- site of the worst terrorist attacks -- is third with a decline of 3.42 percent in jobs. The remaining top 10 hardest hit are: 4. Reno (3.15%), 5. Atlantic City (2.98%), 6. Orlando (2.85%), 7. Wichita, Kan. (2.81%), 8. Flagstaff, Ariz. (2.61%), 9. Honolulu (2.57%) and 10. Forth Worth (2.45%). In overall numbers, New York will suffer the most job losses in 2002 -- nearly 150,000 fewer than it was expected to have in 2002 prior to the events of Sept. 11. Second-worst hit will be Los Angeles, with a predicted loss of 69,000 jobs this year. Chicago is third with a projected loss of more than 68,000 jobs. The others in the top 10 are: 4. Las Vegas (40,770 jobs lost), 5. Boston (36,080), 6. Seattle (33,940), 7. Atlanta (32,170), 8. Washington, D.C. (31,600), 9. Detroit (31,430) and 10. Dallas (29,300). All told, metropolitan areas across the U.S. will lose an estimated 1.64 million jobs this year as a direct result of 9/11, the Institute found. Most of those -- almost half -- will come from industries hardest hit by the attacks, such as air transportation, hotels, amusement and dining. "The attacks of September 11 devastated several key industries and the cities dependent on them," said Ross DeVol, Director of Regional Studies and principal author of the report. "The good news is that many of those jobs should come back by next year."