Shifting Sands' Job Gains

Here is a good Bloomberg BusinessWeek article on job growth in sand states (Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California).  These states had the most job declines during the recession, but are now leading the nation in job growth.  The BusinessWeek article seemed surprised at this trend.  What I'd like to know, and what's not addressed in the article, is what impact the collapsing housing market had on the job losses and what impact a rebounding housing market is having and will have on job recovery.