EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - A research group is praising the Eau Claire metro area as a "recession-buster:" a place where business succeeded, despite the economic downturn.

Area Development, which follows manufacturing and economic development, ranked the Eau Claire area 61st out of 365 metro areas in the U.S. for economic and job growth. It has Eau Claire at number 8 overall for the "recession-busting cities" category for mid-size cities.

The group used more than 20 different indicators in coming up with the rankings. It took the workforce into account, growth of jobs, wages, and salaries.

“Our strengths of having a new labor force come out of the universities every year, being led by technology, transfer, having a high percentage of bachelor degrees per our population are all strong points that this rankings and study showed,” Economic Development Director Mike Schatz said.

Schatz says it's also the third national ranking in the last month that shows Eau Claire in a good light. There was another economy-driven study by Forbes, and one showing Eau Claire is among the nation's brainiest cities. The area development study ranked Columbus, IN the number one metro area for economic and job growth. It ranked the Oshkosh-Neenah metro area just ahead of Eau Claire at number 59.

You can see the full report by clicking on the link below.