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Bullish on jobs? These 10 cities are.

Our list of the 10 metro areas that saw the most job growth in 2011 might surprise you.

7. Holland-Grand Haven, Mich.: +4.8 percent

Mark Copier/The Grand Rapids Press/AP/File
In this 2010 photo, Bryan Ritterby applies masking tape to the inverted top half mold for a bus body that will be powered by electricity for Energetx Composites, an advanced materials manufacturer in Holland, Mich. Mr. Ritterby, who completed a composite materials class at a community college, was invited to attend President Obama's State of the Union address in Washington last month. The metro area has seen robust growth in population and jobs over the past year.

  • By Meredith Bennett-Smith Contributor

The Holland-Grand Haven metropolitan statistical area is home to 263,801 residents, spread out across the town of Holland, the Ottawa County seat, and the lakeside resort town of Grand Haven, as well as surrounding communities. Its two principal communities are diverse: Grand Haven is prosperous and 95 percent white; Holland is 23 percent Hispanic and more than a fifth of its population speaks a language other than English at home – more than twice the Michigan average. Nevertheless, the area has enjoyed 10 percent population growth over the past decade and can boast the lowest unemployment rate in western Michigan, with 7.1 percent out of work. Manufacturing, government, and service industries are the largest sources of employment in the region. 

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