The 20 largest metropolitan areas in the United States lost 1.15 million jobs in 2001 and 2002, according to a report released on Saturday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The cities, which generate 80 percent of the nation's employment, income and goods and services, accounted for 91.6 percent of all job losses in the country, according to the report released at the mayors' annual meeting in Denver.

The report said that unemployment and sluggish economic growth in metropolitan areas, the nation's economic engine, affected the country's overall recovery.

"Until the locomotive of the U.S. economy revives, the nation will be stalled," Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said.

The statistics were compiled from data from the U.S. Department of Labor, which this week reported the nation's unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent in May, the highest level since 1994.

New York, the nation's largest city, posted the largest job losses, with more than 145,000 workers losing their jobs. The report predicted job gains in late 2003, but said the slow economic recovery continued to strain the cities' resources.

"Cutbacks in federal and state spending on health and social services will sorely test local governments, which must deal with the increased needs of their populations in times of economic distress," the report said.

The five-day gathering of more than 225 mayors from across the United States will address issues ranging from SARS to homeland security and sustainable development.

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