The four cities that best weathered the recession

WASHINGTON (AP) — Call them the Final Four: The four large cities that have made it through the Great Recession with the smallest increases in unemployment.

Minneapolis, Buffalo, Oklahoma City and Rochester, N.Y., don’t have much else in common. But a government report shows they’ve had the smallest increases in joblessness over the past two years among cities with at least 1 million people.

None of the four relies on heavy manufacturing industries, such as autos or steel, which have been hit hard by the downturn. And all have avoided the extremes of the housing boom and bust that devastated much of California, Florida and Nevada.

Overall, unemployment rose in nearly all 372 metro areas in January, the Labor Department said Friday, because the weak recovery hasn’t spurred much hiring.