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March 2011: 10 Best and Worst Cities to Find a Job

By: CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

Among U.S. cities, hiring activity saw a major upswing in March, indicating that the job market may be turning the corner. Louisville, with a 15% gain, was the leader in per capita job growth this month, followed by Hartford (+9%) and Memphis (+8%). San Francisco, Detroit, and Nashville each showed modest gains of 6% in March.

Want to know where the jobs are? These metro areas made up the 10 best cities to find a job in March:

By: CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

Employment activity across the U.S. remained stagnant in February, increasing by 0.6 points to a CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index score of 104.3. While this is the second straight month that hiring has remained above the Index's base score of 100, the lack of progress over the past month means that hiring won't make a noticeable dent in unemployment until the fall, at the earliest.

By: CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

Memphis, Atlanta, Boston, Phoenix, and Minneapolis all had double-digit increases in managerial recruitment activity in February, according to the new CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index. The February 2011 Index, which measures managerial hiring activity online, stands at 104.3, 21 points higher than it was in February 2010.

Memphis, with a 19% increase in managerial hiring, was the big winner this month, followed by Atlanta (+15%), Boston (+14%), Phoenix and Minneapolis (+13%).

By: CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index
January 2011

January Hiring Overall

January Hiring by Job Title

January Hiring by City

January Hiring by Region

The beginning of the year is traditionally a strong period for employment activity, as companies put new hiring plans into action and workers restart their job searches after the holiday break. Keeping with this trend, according to the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment index, employment activity across the U.S. improved by 3.8% in January 2011, finishing at an overall Index score of 103.7. Beginning the year on a positive note, January’s performance has helped to bring hiring back above 2007 levels, but unfortunately it was still not enough to make up for losses suffered in December. Unless employment activity picks up significantly in the coming months, January’s performance could portend another year of stagnant hiring.

By: CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

Washington, D.C. managed to hold on to the title of America's best city to find a job for the 36th straight month in January. That said, the nation's capital saw employment activity decline by 20 points for the month, sending the city back to its lowest Index score in over a year. This decline has helped Boston finish within striking distance of first place, as the New England city held its ground with just a three-point decline in January.

By: CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

While the Northeast as a whole saw employment activity improve in December, many of the region’s major cities didn’t fare as well. Washington, D.C. saw hiring decline by 19 points in December, one of the city’s worst performances of the year. That said, the nation’s capital remained the best U.S. city to find a job, a position it has held for the past three years. Also marking three years as one of the best cities to find a job is Boston, which held onto second place despite seeing employment activity fall 23 points to an Index score of 128.