While the Northeast as a whole saw employment activity improve in December, many of the region’s major cities didn’t fare as well. Washington, D.C. saw hiring decline by 19 points in December, one of the city’s worst performances of the year. That said, the nation’s capital remained the best U.S. city to find a job, a position it has held for the past three years. Also marking three years as one of the best cities to find a job is Boston, which held onto second place despite seeing employment activity fall 23 points to an Index score of 128.
Though every U.S. city in the top 10 suffered losses in employment activity in December, some still managed to gain ground for the month. With just a four point decline, Baltimore climbed past Atlanta to finish in fifth place overall, and Philadelphia overtook Cleveland to end the year as the 10 best city for finding a job. Last month marked Cleveland’s second appearance in the top 10 this year, but both times the city has quickly slid back down the rankings.
Want to know where the jobs are right now? Check out December, 2010’s 10 Best Cities for Finding a New Job:
| Rank | City | Score | Ranking Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington, D.C. | 167 | +/-0 |
| 2 | Boston, MA | 128 | +/-0 |
| 3 | San Francisco | 117 | +/-0 |
| 4 | Seattle | 100 | +/-0 |
| 5 | Baltimore | 91 | +1 |
| 6 | Atlanta | 83 | -1 |
| 7 | Chicago | 78 | +/-0 |
| 8 | New York | 77 | +/-0 |
| 9 | Denver | 71 | +/-0 |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 67 | +2 |
Next Page: December’s 10 Worst Cities to Find a Job