Assert that the labor market is fairly decent, and be prepared for a healthy dose of cynicism. The data, though, shows an abundance of reason to feel positive about employment trends. Friday's U.S. employment statistics support this: 178,000 jobs were added last month and the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since 2007. But try telling an audience, and you'll feel like an out-of-touch, East Coast elitist.

Is there merit to people's skepticism, or is the labor market as good as the numbers would suggest?

In short, the labor market is good. But, for an old, slow-growth, Northeastern metro, we have to keep perspective. Comparing us to Dallas tells us little. Comparing us to our own historical trends, or to other, older metros provides a better sense of our progress.

Nonetheless, there is some validation for skepticism about the Philadelphia region's labor market. This Flash sheds some light on why we are positive about employment trends, but also why skepticism persists. Look no farther than the chart below for a reality check. Employment in the Philadelphia region has reached its highest level ever. Jobs are, indeed, growing and will continue to grow. Just over the last year, almost 44,000 jobs were created. The unemployment rate reached 5.1% in October, actually up from one year ago, but far below the 8.2% where it was just four years ago.

Despite the clear, upward trajectory in employment numbers, doubts persist regarding the source of these jobs. The chart below shows the major industries and the number of jobs they have created over the last year in the Philadelphia metro.

The largest number of new jobs (11,800) have come from the Professional and Business Services sector: lawyers, accountants, engineers, architects, advertising professionals, computer system designers, in addition to many of the services that support these jobs, such as office administration, security guards, and janitors. We see the growth in these jobs reflected in higher office occupancy throughout the region.

Some of the other sectors are self-explanatory, but it is worth noting that even manufacturing jobs increased over the last year. In fact, more manufacturing jobs were created than jobs in the financial sector.

So, why is everyone so skeptical? Easy: the jobs haven't grown fast enough.

The Philadelphia region's rate of job growth over the last several years has lagged almost all of the other top 10 metros.