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Graphic: The 10 Best And Worst Cities For Job Growth

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There were 76 million people born in the U.S. between 1946 and 1964 that define the baby boomer generation. Boomers pushed up home ownership rates and fueled the consumer spending over the last three decades that made the U.S. a $17 billion economy. Now as baby boomers transition out of the workforce, retirement communities are reaping the benefits of this group. The 65 and over crowd is one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. and a handful of Florida metros are reaping the benefits.

Five Florida metro areas with significant retiree populations rank among the 10 places with the fastest projected job growth over the next three years, according to forecasts from Moody's Analytics. These areas are creating jobs in construction, retail and healthcare to service the influx of retirees moving there. Naples is tops with an annual projected rate of 4.6% through 2017. Orlando is a sixth Florida spot in the top 10, but it is tourism that is the driving the train of Orlando's expected growth and not retirees.

Forbes looked at the 200 largest metros by population for its annual feature on the Best Places for Business. While the fastest employment growth areas are concentrated in Florida, the slowest growth places are spread out across states. Metros from eight states rank among the 10 areas with the slowest projected job growth over the next three years. Every one of the 200 metro area is expected to add jobs with the exception of two Louisiana locales, Lafayette and New Orleans, where Moody's forecasts annual declines of 0.2% and 0.5%.

Employment in Lafayette is heavily concentrated in oil field services used in drilling, as well as the manufacturing of drilling components. With crude oil prices off more than 60% last year, Lafayette is getting crushed as oil companies cut back on their investments. "Lafayette is struggling with lower prices," says Moody's Analytics economist Kyle Hillman, who focuses on Louisiana. "We expect prices to pick up, but not enough."

New Orleans has some exposure to the oil industry with many regional headquarters of energy companies based in The Big Easy. But the real story for New Orleans is trade. The Port of South Louisiana is the largest shipping port in the Western Hemisphere. The strong U.S. dollar is making goods coming from the U.S. more expensive. "We expect the U.S. dollar to remain strong, and New Orleans has a large exposure based on trade," says Hillman. "It is going to have an out-sized effect on the economy."

Infographic by Emma Choi

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