Gallup: Strongest Job Growth Last Year in Orlando, Fla.

Orlando, Fla., boosted by increased hiring in its leisure and hospitality sectors, had the highest job growth in the United States last year — while the weakest employment gains were in Hartford, Conn., Gallup said Tuesday.

Here are the top five cities for employment growth in the Gallup Job Creation Index for 2015:

• Orlando, Fla.: Up 45 percent.
• Salt Lake City, Utah: 43 percent.
• Austin, Texas: 41 percent.
• Louisville, Ky., and San Francisco: 40 percent each.

Here are the five weakest cities:

• Hartford, Conn.: Up 21 percent.
• Providence, R.I.: 22 percent.
• Oklahoma City: 25 percent.
• New York City-Newark, N.J., region: 25 percent.
• New Orleans: 25 percent.

The index is based on interviews with working Americans who respond whether their company is hiring workers or not.

Nationally, 42 percent of workers in the United States last year said that their employers were hiring more people, while 12 percent reported that their companies were not, Gallup reports.

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