True staying power: Houston holds onto its jobs clout while Dallas drops in new national rankings

  The Houston area ranks fifth on Forbes magazine's new 2014 list of "Best Big Cities for Jobs" for the second straight year. With Austin, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio all included in the Top 12, Texas reigns supreme as the state with by far the most cities on the list.

  Forbes ranked the nation's 398 metropolitan statistical areas based on employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from November 2002 through January 2014. The rankings are based on recent growth trends, mid-term growth, long-term growth and the region's momentum. For the "Big Cities" list, Forbes ranked 66 metropolitan areas with more than 450,000 jobs.

  With 2.83 million jobs and growth of 3 percent in 2013 — and 8.4 percent growth between 2008 and 2013 — Houston maintained its No. 5 spot.

  In the past few years, Texas has dominated Forbes' "Best Big Cities for Jobs" lists. In 2012, Houston ranked second after Austin, Fort Worth was No. 4 and Dallas was No. 6. Last year, however, Houston fell to No. 5 and Austin dropped to No. 10, although Fort Worth and Dallas maintained their No. 4 and No. 6 spots, respectively.

  With 881,000 jobs and growth of 4.1 percent in 2013, Austin jumped back up to No. 3 behind San Jose-Santa Clara and San Francisco on this year's list, while the Dallas area, with 2.2 million jobs and 2.8 percent growth in 2013, dropped to No. 9. Fort Worth, with 931,000 jobs and growth of 2.5 percent in 2013, fell to No. 11 in 2014, and San Antonio, with 913,000 jobs and growth of 2.2 percent in 2013, jumped into the No. 12 spot.

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