In today's competitive market, many job seekers are considering relocation in order to find more desirable opportunities. But which cities offer candidates the best chance of finding a good job? According to July 2009 data from the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index, Washington, D.C., currently has more white-collar job openings per capita than any other city in America.
Surveying 20 major metro areas across the U.S., the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index counts the number of "real" job openings per capita in each city (for complete information see our Methodology), and in July the nation's capital had nearly one and a half as many available jobs as second-place Boston, and over 50% more than third-place Seattle. The cities rounding out the list were much closer, however, with each boasting a similar number of available jobs per capita.
If you need to relocate but are worried about entering an overly-competitive employment market, you might be best served by moving to one of July, 2009's 8 best cities to find a job:
| City | Index Ranking | Index Score |
|---|---|---|
| Washington, D.C. | 1 | 123 |
| Boston | 2 | 80 |
| Seattle | 3 | 60 |
| Chicago | 4 | 51 |
| San Francisco | 5 | 51 |
| Baltimore | 6 | 48 |
| New York | 7 | 48 |
| Atlanta | 8 | 46 |
Conversely, of the 20 major metro areas measured by the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index, by far the worst performer was Riverside, California, in the Inland Empire east of Los Angeles. Hit hard by the housing bubble and other factors, the Riverside area scored well below average. Compared to top-ranked Washington, D.C., the nation's capital boasted more than 10 times as many available white-collar jobs per capita during July of 2009.
Faring only slightly better than Riverside were Detroit, Tampa Bay, Miami and St. Louis, all of which have been hit hard both by declining industries and the collapse in housing prices. Those worried about finding a managerial position may want to avoid the following areas, which make up July's 8 worst cities to find a job:
| City | Index Ranking | Index Score |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside, CA | 29 | 11 |
| Detroit | 28 | 17 |
| Memphis | 27 | 20 |
| Tampa | 26 | 22 |
| Louisville | 25 | 25 |
| Miami | 24 | 26 |
| St. Louis | 23 | 27 |
| Cincinnati | 22 | 27 |
To truly gain a complete picture of the job market, however, it's important to look beyond just the best and worst cities to find jobs. The CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index breaks down the job market each month, analyzing data on managerial hiring overall, as well as by region and job level.
Diversity Jobs
Green Jobs
Healthcare Jobs
Nursing Jobs
