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

intersection of virginia and consitution avenues By CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

After a month in which all 30 major cities measured by the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Index posted gains in employment activity, May's downturn produced less consistent results. While there was no change in the order of cities that make up the 10 best places to find a job, almost all saw a significant increase in employment activity for the month. The volume of available jobs grew by another 10 points in Washington, D.C., solidifying its ranking as the best city for jobs for the 11th month in a row.

Boston and San Francisco also saw a strong improvement in employment activity, gaining nine and eight points in May, respectively, while fifth-place Atlanta managed just a three point gain but still managed to stay just ahead of Baltimore. Most impressive has been the performance of Philadelphia's job market in recent months. Trailing Washington, D.C. in employment activity by nearly three to one as recently as January, the city of brotherly love has gained nearly 20 points since then, surpassing San Diego to finish as this month's 10th best city for jobs.

Less impressive, on the other hand, was Riverside's meager two point gain, which left the southern California city as the worst U.S. city for jobs for the 11th straight month. Second-worst on the list was Memphis, which saw no change in employment activity and fell back behind Detroit, which gained three points.

  • Washington, D.C.

    Overall Index Rank: 1st
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    Washington, D.C. (Index score: 172) has led all cities with the most job openings per capita for an amazing 11 months in a row, and continues to gain ground. While the pace of growth was slower in May than previous months, it still posted a 10 point gain, the most of any city in the 10 Best list.
    1 of 10

  • Boston, MA

    Overall Index Rank: 2nd
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    Boston once again had an impressive gain in employment activity in May, gaining eight points for the month. This helped the city maintain its spot as the 2nd best city in America for jobs, and stay a full 25 points ahead of 3rd place San Francisco.
    2 of 10

  • San Francisco, CA

    Overall Index Rank: 3rd
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    While San Francisco again gained ground in May, jumping 8 points to an Index score of 106, the pace of growth actually slowed last month in the city by the bay. That said, San Francisco became just the 3rd city in America with an Index score above 100.
    3 of 10

  • Seattle, WA

    Overall Index Rank: 4th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    After enjoying a 10 point gain in March, May marks the 2nd straight month that Seattle’s job growth has slowed. With a five point gain to an Index score of 89, employment activity will need to pick up if the Emerald City wants to catch San Francisco.
    4 of 10

  • Atlanta, GA

    Overall Index Rank: 5th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    Atlanta was another city that saw slower growth in May. After posting the 2nd highest increase in employment activity of any city on the Index in April, gains in May were limited to a modest 3 points.
    5 of 10

  • Baltimore, MD

    Overall Index Rank: 6th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    Like Seattle, Baltimore also enjoyed a modest, 5 point gain in employment activity for the month. This was enough to keep the city in 6th place overall, but not to reclaim the 5th spot it lost in April.
    6 of 10

  • Chicago, IL

    Overall Index Rank: 7th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    Chicago’s May performance mirrored that of Seattle and Baltimore – 5 point growth in employment activity. With all 3 cities posting such similar results, it was hard for any one to move up the rankings. Because of this, Chicago, remained the 7th best city for jobs for the 5th month in a row.
    7 of 10

  • New York, NY

    Overall Index Rank: 8th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    While New York's overall Index score of 77 was lower than that of Chicago (80) and Baltimore (80), the big apple also managed to improve employment activity by 5 points.
    8 of 10

  • Denver, CO

    Overall Index Rank: 9th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    Like 5th place Atlanta, Denver also only saw employment activity grow by just 3 points. That said, Philadelphia also grew slowly in May, meaning that the mile high city is on pace to retain 9th again next month.
    9 of 10

  • Philadelphia, PA

    Overall Index Rank: 10th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact:

    This is the 2nd straight month of slow hiring growth for Philadelphia, as the city again gained just 3 points. However, thanks to an impressive performance between January and March, the city of brotherly love is still well ahead of the next city down the list, Dallas.
    10 of 10

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