October 2011: The 10 Best (and Worst) Cities for Finding a Job

Hiring activity in Denver decreased by 7% in October. This slide dropped the Mile High City 9-points from October 2010 levels.

Job activity remained relatively flat in October for New York City as hiring levels dropped by 1%. Since last October though, the Big Apple has dropped 8-points in hiring levels.

After several months of positive hiring gains, Nashville saw a 10-point loss in job activity in October. Year-over-year Nashville is still crooning happy tunes with a 16-point gain.

October was a rough month in Chicago for hiring as job activity dropped 13% landing the Windy City at 79. This huge slide left Chi-Town down 1-point below hiring levels from last October.

Although the job activity in Baltimore took a 3-point dive, the city jumped two ranks to 6th position on our list.

Hiring in Atlanta fell again (-3%) for the third straight month in a row. Despite the drop in employment activity, Atlanta still managed to gain a rank since other cities had more hiring challenges.

Hiring in Seattle continues to bounce back and forth every month. This month Emerald City saw a 2% slide in employment activity to land at 100. This is a 6-point decline in employment from 2010, but a 45-point increase from 2009.

San Francisco is the only city on our list that had a positive gain in hiring numbers in October. The Golden Gate city saw hiring in the region jump 2% this past month.

Boston holds on to the second spot on our list despite a 2-point decrease in hiring. This is the second straight drop in two months for a total of 15 points lost.

Despite a 5-point drop, Washington, D.C., is still far ahead of the other cities in terms of job opportunities. The Capital region has lead our list for 46 straight months.