After a poor performance last month, employment activity across the U.S. surged in March, increasing by 5% to finish at an overall Index score of 109.5. This is the best employment activity score the CareerCast.com/JobSerf [1] Employment Index has measured since January 2008, and is a full 19.1 points above hiring levels during March of last year.
What does an overall Index score of 109.5 for March mean? The CareerCast.com/JobSerf [1] Employment Index calculates the number of available managerial job openings each month by surveying a wide range of local and national job boards across the U.S., with all results hand-counted and checked for duplication by a team of researchers. The Index measures employment activity against a base score of 100, which represents the volume of job openings during the same period in 2007. A score higher than 100 means that there are more available jobs than in 2007, while one below 100 means that job seekers now have fewer opportunities available. Thanks to a strong performance this month, there were 2.5 times as many jobs in March as there were a year ago.
| Index Month | Index Score | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|
| March 2011 | 109.5 | +5.2 |
| February 2011 | 104.3 | +0.6 |
| January 2011 | 103.7 | +3.8 |
| December 2010 | 99.9 | -6.0 |
| November 2010 | 105.9 | +6.4 |
| October 2010 | 99.5 | -0.1 |
| September 2010 | 99.6 | -2.7 |
| August 2010 | 102.3 | -4.6 |
| July 2010 | 106.9 | +14.3 |
| June 2010 | 92.6 | +3.6 |
| May 2010 | 89.0 | -3.3 |
| April 2010 | 92.3 | +1.9 |
| March 2010 | 90.4 | +7.1 |
| February 2010 | 83.3 | +12.5 |
| January 2010 | 70.8 | -3.1 |
| December 2009 | 73.9 | +0.2 |
| November 2009 | 73.7 | +5.9 |
| October 2009 | 67.8 | -0.6 |
| September 2009 | 68.4 | -11.4 |
| August 2009 | 79.8 | +1.6 |
| July 2009 | 78.2 | +17.8 |
| June 2009 | 60.4 | +3.8 |
| May 2009 | 56.6 | +15.2 |
| April 2009 | 41.4 | -2.7 |
| March 2009 | 44.1 | -5.4 |
| February 2009 | 49.5 | -12.2 |
| January 2009 | 61.7 | -4.5 |
| December 2008 | 66.2 | -10.9 |
| November 2008 | 77.1 | +3.7 |
| October 2008 | 73.4 | -14.3 |
| September 2008 | 87.7 | -18.0 |
| August 2008 | 105.7 | +5.4 |
| July 2008 | 100.3 | -2.3 |
| June 2008 | 102.6 | +6.8 |
| May 2008 | 95.8 | +1.6 |
| April 2008 | 94.2 | -15.1 |
| March 2008 | 109.3 | +0.3 |
| February 2008 | 109.0 | +8.7 |
| January 2008 | 100.3 | +/-0 |
Regional hiring varied widely in March, with the Southeast and Northeast posting the biggest improvements as employment activity increased by 13.5 and 5 points, respectively. On the other hand, after finishing as the best U.S. region for job seekers last month, the Midwest saw employment activity decline by 11.7 points, or approximately 9%, in March. This decline forced the region back into second place behind the Northeast.
| Index Month | Northeast | Southeast | Midwest | Southwest | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2011 | 123.1 | 109.0 | 113.2 | 105.5 | 87.9 |
| February 2011 | 118.1 | 95.5 | 124.9 | 106.1 | 85.3 |
| January 2011 | 114.3 | 90.7 | 112.1 | 117.3 | 87.4 |
| December 2010 | 106.7 | 97.0 | 104.6 | 100.2 | 82.2 |
| November 2010 | 100.4 | 100.1 | 103.6 | 112.6 | 91.6 |
| October 2010 | 108.8 | 89.6 | 98.2 | 102.4 | 80.6 |
| September 2010 | 102.0 | 91.8 | 102.0 | 103.9 | 84.8 |
| August 2010 | 108.8 | 95.6 | 106.4 | 105.2 | 84.3 |
| July 2010 | 111.7 | 100.6 | 101.9 | 103.5 | 88.6 |
| June 2010 | 108.9 | 100.1 | 97.0 | 100.4 | 79.7 |
| May 2010 | 98.6 | 89.2 | 89.4 | 102.9 | 77.5 |
| April 2010 | 99.7 | 87.3 | 91.3 | 94.9 | 74.5 |
| March 2010 | 94.1 | 85.6 | 86.3 | 97.5 | 71.3 |
| February 2010 | 94.3 | 79.4 | 95.8 | 88.6 | 70.9 |
| January 2010 | 85.0 | 66.4 | 76.8 | 84.8 | 63.6 |
| December 2009 | 84.8 | 76.0 | 75.1 | 79.3 | 67.6 |
| November 2009 | 84.5 | 74.7 | 68.2 | 77.7 | 69.5 |
| October 2009 | 78.0 | 66.6 | 62.1 | 73.7 | 63.8 |
| September 2009 | 75.6 | 69.1 | 65.1 | 75.4 | 64.5 |
| August 2009 | 92.0 | 83.3 | 80.4 | 86.3 | 73.7 |
| July 2009 | 87.5 | 80.3 | 72.4 | 88.1 | 75.0 |
| June 2009 | 68.6 | 64.4 | 60.9 | 69.4 | 55.9 |
| May 2009 | 67.0 | 61.8 | 53.1 | 66.9 | 51.7 |
| April 2009 | 46.0 | 42.5 | 40.4 | 47.5 | 40.1 |
| March 2009 | 48.1 | 45.8 | 39.0 | 51.6 | 45.2 |
| February 2009 | 51.7 | 50.4 | 46.6 | 54.4 | 50.5 |
| January 2009 | 66.0 | 58.5 | 56.6 | 70.8 | 62.6 |
| December 2008 | 69.7 | 69.9 | 59.8 | 71.8 | 66.3 |
| November 2008 | 81.1 | 76.8 | 72.7 | 81.6 | 78.3 |
| October 2008 | 75.1 | 71.5 | 71.1 | 79.0 | 75.2 |
| September 2008 | 87.0 | 82.9 | 86.8 | 97.8 | 93.3 |
| August 2008 | 109.0 | 102.5 | 105.8 | 115.2 | 109.4 |
| July 2008 | 106.6 | 96.4 | 107.7 | 111.1 | 96.3 |
| June 2008 | 108.0 | 101.2 | 100.4 | 111.7 | 103.0 |
| May 2008 | 100.0 | 97.2 | 92.2 | 103.8 | 97.0 |
| April 2008 | 98.3 | 92.3 | 96.7 | 99.6 | 95.5 |
| March 2008 | 115.2 | 113.1 | 108.3 | 119.3 | 107.7 |
| February 2008 | 114.5 | 105.0 | 133.6 | 117.3 | 105.3 |
| January 2008 | 101.2 | 94.6 | 103.3 | 113.5 | 100.3 |
Examining U.S. employment activity by job title, VP-level hiring continued to post gains after a strong performance in February. Demand for VP candidates increased by nine points in March, pushing the title into second place behind Manager-level hiring, which led all others as the most in-demand job title this month. On the other hand, demand for C-Suite candidates slid for the second straight month, finishing in third place with an Index score of 104.
| Index Month | C-Level | VP Level | Director Level | Manager Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2011 | 104 | 113 | 95 | 118 |
| February 2011 | 106 | 104 | 97 | 109 |
| January 2011 | 111 | 79 | 105 | 108 |
| December 2010 | 71 | 97 | 95 | 108 |
| November 2010 | 72 | 113 | 104 | 110 |
| October 2010 | 81 | 114 | 98 | 100 |
| September 2010 | 76 | 114 | 98 | 100 |
| August 2010 | 86 | 115 | 101 | 103 |
| July 2010 | 104 | 105 | 105 | 109 |
| June 2010 | 77 | 86 | 90 | 98 |
| May 2010 | 75 | 88 | 84 | 94 |
| April 2010 | 76 | 88 | 91 | 97 |
| March 2010 | 68 | 89 | 87 | 96 |
| February 2010 | 70 | 77 | 80 | 89 |
| January 2010 | 60 | 48 | 83 | 71 |
| December 2009 | 57 | 68 | 80 | 74 |
| November 2009 | 57 | 68 | 81 | 73 |
| October 2009 | 62 | 65 | 77 | 64 |
| September 2009 | 63 | 63 | 76 | 66 |
| August 2009 | 90 | 75 | 88 | 75 |
| July 2009 | 81 | 66 | 85 | 77 |
| June 2009 | 74 | 52 | 66 | 57 |
| May 2009 | 65 | 50 | 63 | 53 |
| April 2009 | 31 | 31 | 48 | 42 |
| March 2009 | 22 | 33 | 50 | 47 |
| February 2009 | 28 | 37 | 56 | 52 |
| January 2009 | 38 | 38 | 75 | 63 |
| December 2008 | 35 | 48 | 74 | 71 |
| November 2008 | 47 | 56 | 86 | 82 |
| October 2008 | 58 | 74 | 81 | 71 |
| September 2008 | 82 | 81 | 91 | 88 |
| August 2008 | 81 | 100 | 107 | 110 |
| July 2008 | 78 | 82 | 111 | 102 |
| June 2008 | 110 | 87 | 109 | 101 |
| May 2008 | 123 | 83 | 102 | 91 |
| April 2008 | 105 | 87 | 98 | 92 |
| March 2008 | 102 | 108 | 111 | 110 |
| February 2008 | 117 | 122 | 110 | 104 |
| January 2008 | 111 | 84 | 107 | 99 |
Continue to See the 10 Best and Worst Cities to Find a Job
Employment activity surges in March, gaining 5% overall. The Northeast and Southeast benefit most from the boom, while Midwest suffers.
Among U.S. cities, hiring activity saw a major upswing in March, indicating that the job market may be turning the corner. Louisville, with a 15% gain, was the leader in per capita job growth this month, followed by Hartford (+9%) and Memphis (+8%). San Francisco, Detroit, and Nashville each showed modest gains of 6% in March.
Want to know where the jobs are? These metro areas made up the 10 best cities to find a job in March:
| Rank | City | Score | Score Change | Rank Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington, D.C. | 163 | +8 | +/-0 |
| 2 | Boston, MA | 140 | -2 | +/-0 |
| 3 | San Francisco, CA | 127 | +7 | +/-0 |
| 4 | Seattle, WA | 106 | -3 | +/-0 |
| 5 | Atlanta, GA | 86 | -5 | +/-0 |
| 6 | New York, NY | 81 | +1 | +/-0 |
| 7 | Baltimore, MD | 80 | +2 | +/-0 |
| 8 | Chicago, IL | 79 | +1 | +/-0 |
| 9 | Denver, CO | 74 | +1 | +/-0 |
| 10 | Philadelphia, PA | 67 | +1 | +1 |
Moving to the bottom half of the cities list, Riverside, CA once again finished in last place. Hit hard by the economic downturn, the metro area in Southern California could soon mark its third straight year as the worst U.S. city for job seekers. Despite the recent surge in employment activity, hiring in other cities besides Riverside stalled as well. Los Angeles experienced an 8% drop in job availability, while hiring in Miami slid by 6% and Minneapolis, Atlanta and San Diego all saw employment activity drop by 5% overall.
If you want to relocate but are worried about moving to a bad job market, take note of these metro areas, which make up March 2011’s 10 Worst Cities to Find a Job:
| Rank | City | Score | Score Change | Rank Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Riverside, CA | 20 | -1 | +/-0 |
| 29 | Detroit, MI | 36 | +2 | +/-0 |
| 28 | Memphis, TN | 40 | +3 | +/-0 |
| 27 | Tampa, FL | 44 | -1 | +/-0 |
| 26 | Los Angeles, CA | 45 | -4 | -2 |
| 25 | Miami, FL | 46 | -3 | +/-0 |
| 24 | Phoenix, AZ | 49 | -2 | -3 |
| 23 | St. Louis, MO | 50 | +/-0 | +/-0 |
| 22 | Cincinnati, OH | 50 | +2 | +4 |
| 21 | Indianapolis, IN | 51 | +/-0 | +1 |