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July 2010: The 10 Worst Cities to Find a Job

Unlike those on the 10 best list, far more metro areas ranked among the 10 worst cities for finding a job managed to post improved employment activity in July. In fact, only Tampa and Riverside, CA lost ground, while hiring in Phoenix remained steady. One of the cities hit hardest by the housing bubble, Riverside has remained dead last in employment activity for 31 straight months, and now has nearly 10 times fewer job openings per capita than Washington, D.C. On the other hand, both St. Louis and Cincinnati had the best performance on the 10-worst list, as each boasted three-point gains in employment activity for July. In addition, Cincinnati is currently on pace to overtake Indianapolis and rise out of the bottom 10 by September.

While Riverside and Tampa were the only cities to lose jobs in July, none of the metro areas on the 10 worst list could be considered a safe destination for job seekers. Spread across the nation and varying both in their size and dominant industries, job seekers seeking relief from unemployment lines would be best served avoiding one of these metro areas, which make up the 10 Worst Cities for Finding a New Job:

  • Riverside, CA

    Overall Index Rank: 30th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact: Riverside’s (Index Score: 18) hard luck continued in July, as the city saw employment activity decline by 2 points for the month, erasing a period of hard-fought gains. The city is now just two points shy of once again having 10 times fewer available jobs per capita as the nation’s leading city, Washington, D.C.
    1 of 10

  • Memphis, TN

    Overall Index Rank: 29th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: -1
    City Fact: Despite posting a slight gain in employment activity for the month, Memphis (Index Score: 33) fell into a virtual tie with Detroit and finished in 29th place. In addition, if job growth fails to improve in the coming months, the home of Graceland could quickly fall behind the rest of the county.
    2 of 10

  • Detroit, MI

    Overall Index Rank: 28th
    +1:
    City Fact: After losing ground last month, employment activity in Detroit (Index Score: 33) improved once again in July, and the city climbed back into 28th place overall. However, this still trails 27th-place Tampa by 5 points.
    3 of 10

  • Tampa, FL

    Overall Index Rank: 27th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: -1
    City Fact: Like many cities on the 10-worst list, Tampa (Index Score: 38) also saw employment activity decline in July. But while the Florida city lost 2 points to fall behind Louisville into 27th place overall, it still maintains a strong lead over 28th place Detroit, and is unlikely to slide further down the rankings.
    4 of 10

  • Louisville, KY

    Overall Index Rank: 26th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +1
    City Fact: Louisville (Index Score: 40) was one of 7 cities that showed improved employment activity in July. But while the home of the Kentucky Derby improved to 26th place overall, the city is unlikely to overtake 25th-place Phoenix before the end of the year.
    5 of 10

  • Phoenix, AZ

    Overall Index Rank: 25th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: -3
    City Fact: While much of the worst-cities list saw a great deal of movement for July, Phoenix (Index Score: 44) was the only metro area that held steady during the month. However, this brought the Arizona city into a virtual tie with Los Angeles, and put it at risk of falling further down the list in the coming months.
    6 of 10

  • Los Angeles, CA

    Overall Index Rank: 24th
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +/- 0
    City Fact: The 2nd city from southern California to make the worst cities list, Los Angeles (Index Score: 44) is the first of America's five largest metro areas to rank among the bottom 10 for employment activity. Hiring in the city of angels has gained 12 points since the beginning of the year, although July’s 1-point gain was not enough to push the city out of 24th place in July.
    7 of 10

  • St. Louis, MO

    Overall Index Rank: 23rd
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +2
    City Fact: As recently as April, St. Louis (Index Score: 45) had managed to rise out of the bottom 10 altogether. After dropping as low as 25th last month, July saw employment activity in the gateway to the west continue to improve, as the city gained 3 points and finished in 23rd place overall.
    8 of 10

  • Miami, FL

    Overall Index Rank: 22nd
    Ranking Change From Last Month: -1
    City Fact: After enjoying a healthy rebound in June, employment activity in Miami (Index Score: 45) gained just 1 point for July. Combined with the impressive performance by Cincinnati, this dropped the new home of LeBron James back down to 22nd place.
    9 of 10

  • Cincinnati, OH

    Overall Index Rank: 21st
    Ranking Change From Last Month: +2
    City Fact: Cincinnati (Index Score: 47) continues to show improved employment activity, as the Ohio city gained an additional 3 points in July to finish 21st in the nation for per capita job opportunities. If the city can continue this pace, it could rise out of the bottom 10 altogether by September.
    10 of 10

The job markets in places like Riverside and Detroit notwithstanding, July's employment activity data is a positive sign for unemployed workers throughout the U.S. Six months of steady gains have set the table for a sustained recovery, and if August can repeat July's impressive performance, the fall could finally bring employment activity to a level that makes a serious impact on unemployment. That said, 2009 also boasted a strong summer period, only to see employment activity unexpectedly drop by more than 10 points in the fall and take a further six months to recover. So while July's employment activity data is encouraging, job seekers will need to wait until September to determine whether this recovery is the real thing, or just another summer surge that will soon fade away.

For more information on employment activity by region, job level and the 10 best and worst cities to find a job dating back to 2008, the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Index's complete findings can be found in our Employment Trends< section.

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