A new national ranking out Wednesday puts Baltimore in a troubling spot as one of the worst cities in the country for jobs.

The ranking underlines the challenge for the city how to attract new employers?

Employment and opportunity are seen as key solutions to other problems -- poverty, crime, substance abuse, but economists said the divide we see on the country is getting worse in the city, too.

The new rankings put Baltimore in the bottom 15 percent of cities when it comes to best places for jobs.

Scottsdale, Arizona, is best on the list, nearby Washington, D.C., is at 23, New York is at 101 and Baltimore is at 127.

The rankings weigh cost of living, unemployment rates and lack of opportunity. Over the past 40 years, Baltimore has seen a steady loss of jobs, according to state data.

In 1969, there were 540,701 jobs in the city. By 2014, the number of jobs had dropped to 399,363.

"Is the answer somewhere in the political process? I don't think so," said Steve Isberg, who teaches finance at the University of Baltimore. I think the real answer is finding a way to get private money to develop an interest in the area."

Like other cities, Baltimore lost its heavy manufacturing base. Its GM plant was torn down. It later became a banking center, but that's diminished, too. Example: a big building once used by bank of America is now being converted to apartments.

Isberg said the big challenge for attracting new employers and industry to Baltimore is the lack of a skilled workforce.

"There's one local business that developed some very specialized equipment that needed periodic maintenance in order to function. There was absolutely no group of workers out there who were ready to operate and maintain those systems," Isberg said.

Isberg points to Port Covington as an example of new investment, but noted the criticism will it widen the city's divide.

"What you're seeing in Baltimore now very similar to what you're seeing in virtually the entire country. You are seeing a separation, a divide. We have a divided economy. We have a divided culture, a divided society, and there's an awful lot of that division within Baltimore," Isberg said.