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July 2010: The 10 Best and Worst Cities to Find a Job

constitution and first avenue By CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

In June, employment activity among the 30 major metro areas surveyed by the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index was extremely consistent, as all but one city posted an increase in hiring for the month. The employment picture in July, however, was more nuanced, with gains and losses spread throughout the list. The biggest surprises were among the 10 best cities to find a job, where despite a strong performance nationally, just one of the metro areas managed to gain ground in July. The best performers in the group were Chicago, which gained a single point to reach an Index score of 84 and climb to 6th place, along with Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, which broke even. Every other city saw employment activity decline, with Boston leading the way by posting a surprising 14-point decline. After recording strong gains each month since January, the Massachusetts city had been on pace to overtake Washington, D.C., by September. Now, however, it remains a full 44 points behind the nation's capital.

Looking to relocate to a market with better employment activity? It might be worthwhile to consider one of the following 10 places, which make up the 10 Best Cities for Finding a New Job:

  • Washington, D.C.

    Overall Index Rank: 1st
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact: Employment activity in Washington, D.C. (Index score: 176) only managed to break for the month, but the nation’s capital still led all metro areas as the best city to find a job in July. While this is D.C.’s 31st straight month in first place, job growth has slowed recently, and the city is on pace to lose ground as early as August.
    1 of 10

  • Boston, MA

    Overall Index Rank: 2nd
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact: Boston (Index Score: 132) had the most disappointing performance of any city in the top 10 for July. After gaining 15 points and threatening to overtake D.C. as the best city to find a job, the Massachusetts capital lost 12 points in July. Despite this decline in employment activity, however, the city still managed to hold onto 2nd place for the time being.
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  • San Francisco, CA

    Overall Index Rank: 3rd
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact: While not as bad as Boston, San Francisco (Index Score: 105) also saw a sharp in employment activity, losing 7 points for the month. This puts its job availability on pace to fall below 100 next month for the first time since April. However, since 4th-place Seattle is also losing ground, the Bay Area is unlikely to fall out of 3rd place for the foreseeable future.
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  • Seattle, WA

    Overall Index Rank: 4th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact: After completing a 22-point gain in employment activity since February, the number of available jobs per capita in Seattle (Index Score: 87) fell slightly last month. While the emerald city is still 18 points ahead of where it was at the beginning of the year, it is currently on pace to fall down the rankings by September.
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  • Baltimore, MD

    Overall Index Rank: 5th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +1
    City Fact: Even though Baltimore (Index Score: 84) also saw a slight decline in employment activity, even greater losses sustained by Atlanta and New York helped the Maryland city rise to 5th place overall in July. That said, Baltimore is now in a virtual tie with Chicago, and will likely fall behind the windy city as soon as next month.
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  • Chicago, IL

    Overall Index Rank: 6th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +1
    City Fact: The only city on the 10-best list to see an increase in employment activity in July, Chicago (Index Score: 84) enjoyed saw a 1 point gain for the month. While modest, this actually helped the Illinois metropolis rise into 6th place overall and finish in a virtual tie with Baltimore.
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  • New York, NY

    Overall Index Rank: 7th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +1
    City Fact: New York (Index Score: 82) and lost ground in July, although employment activity only dropped by a single point. Thanks to a far worse performance by Atlanta, however, the big apple was able to rise up the rankings slightly, finishing in 7th place overall.
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  • Atlanta, GA

    Overall Index Rank: 8th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: -3
    City Fact: Atlanta (Index Score: 80) had been on an impressive run in recent months, gaining 28 points since the beginning of the year and threatening to rise as high as 4th overall. However, it appears that the city’s job market has wilted in the summer heat, as employment activity declined by 6 points overall. This pushed the Georgia capital down from 5th to 8th place overall.
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  • Denver, CO

    Overall Index Rank: 9th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact: After suffering a 4 point decline in employment activity, Denver (Index Score: 68) now trails Washington, D.C. by more than 100 points. Despite this, the city held onto 9th place overall, although it now sits in a virtual tie with Philadelphia, and could slide further down the rankings as soon as next month.
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  • Philadelphia, PA

    Overall Index Rank: 10th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact: After a healthy, 5 point gain in June, Philadelphia (Index Score: 68) only managed to break even in July. If the city can gain ground in the coming months, it should stay on pace to overtake Denver by the fall.
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