Turns out, Portland's job growth isn't only outpacing the rest of Oregon. A new study ranked it among the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., in terms of employment.

The Portland metro economy added 21,500 jobs between July 2011 and July 2012, a 2.2 percent growth clip that pushed the region's non-farm payrolls over 1 million jobs.

The growth rate matched Boston's in the same period, tying for the No. 9 spot in Arizona State University's "Top 10 Cities for Job Growth" list.

San Francisco claimed the top spot, gaining 64,800 new jobs at a 3.5 percent growth rate. Western cities claimed all but three of the 10 slots. Seattle tied for No. 4 along with San Diego and Phoenix, which shared 2.9 percent growth rates.

Of all of the cities, Portland added the fewest new jobs in the past year. A recent Oregon Employment Department report shows that metro-area workers are still struggling: Nearly 98,000 people were unemployed in July, and the jobless rate stands at 8.1 percent.

--Molly Young, @mollykyoung