The past few years haven't been kind to the Sunbelt, but the decade as a whole was much better. Eleven of the 12 U.S. metropolitan areas that posted the biggest employment gains since 2001 are south of the 37th parallel, the Sunbelt's unofficial boundary. Houston has the best 10-year record. It gained 236,700 private-sector jobs over the decade — from an annual average of 1,975,600 in 2001 to 2,212,300 last year. Second place belongs to Washington, the only non-Sunbelt entry in the top 12, with an increase of 158,300 private-sector jobs in 10 years…

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