Simply Hired Blog

Top 15 Best and Worst Places for Job Seekers – August

Simply Hired just released data on the best and worst metro areas for job seekers from August. This data is based on the number of job seekers for each unique job in metro areas around the U.S.

Top 5 Best Metro Areas for Job Seekers

1. Burlington - Plattsburgh – 1 unique job for every 3 job seekers
2. El Paso (Las Cruces) – 1 unique job for every 3 job seekers
3. Paducah - Cape Girardeau - Harrisburg – 1 unique job for every 3 job seekers
4. Omaha  – 1 unique job for every 5 job seekers
5. Washington, DC – 1 unique job for every 5 job seekers

 

Top 5 Worst Metro Areas for Job Seekers

1. Youngstown – 1 unique job for every 52 job seekers
2. Fresno - Visalia – 1 unique job for every 51 job seekers
3. Detroit – 1 unique job for every 40 job seekers
4. Harlingen - Weslaco - Brownsville - McAllen – 1 unique job for every 40 job seekers
5. Miami - Fort Lauderdale – 1 unique job for every 30 job seekers

To view the full lists of the top 15 best and worst metro areas for job seekers, click the images below. 

September Job Trends

Simply Hired just released our September Job Data Report, which is filled with information on the month’s employment climate. Using data from the Simply Hired database, this report presents the performance of unique jobs based on state, metro area, job title, ONET code and keyword.

September showed a number of noticeable trends:

Help for the holidays
     Jobs related to seasonal work tend to rise in the last few months of the year as employers look for additional help to get them through the extra load from customers over the holiday season. September data shows that this is the month when seasonal positions are opened. In Sept, Hawaii was the state with the highest increase of unique jobs, up 9% from August and Honolulu as the metro area with the highest increase in unique jobs (up 13.1%), most likely in preparation for the increase in tourism to the state as vacationers seek warmer weather over the holidays.

     The retail industry seemed to begin their seasonal hiring, many of the most popular unique jobs by title are related to the retail, including Merchandise Associate (2nd - 1,864 jobs), Sales Representative (3rd - 1,611 jobs), Customer Service Rep. (7th - 1,011 jobs), and Store Manager (8th - 941 jobs).

     In addition, the top3 keywords with the most unique jobs were related to retail and other industries with seasonal needs: part-time, customer service, and sales. “Seasonal” topped the list of the keywords with the highest increases in the number of jobs in September. 

In need of healthcare workers
     In September, the healthcare industry proved to be strongly increasing. “Physical Therapist” topped the list as the title with the most popular unique jobs with 2,100 jobs and “Occupational Therapist” making the list at number six (1,080 jobs).

     Healthcare jobs still ranked high based on jobs by ONET with the Registered Nurses ONET being the second most in demand with 69,900 jobs. And coming in second on the list of jobs by ONET with the highest amount of new jobs in September was Physical Therapists, with 3,800 new jobs (over 125 new open jobs per day).

     Finally, all three of the least competitive jobs by ONET were in the healthcare sector (Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and General Pediatricians), meaning there are the most amount of available jobs per job seeker.

Going Mobile
     The demand for Computer Software Engineers for Applications topped the list of most new jobs by ONET, with 4,600 new openings in September, indicating the rise and demand for mobile technology and social sites. This is the third consecutive month that this has appeared on our reports.

Seasonal Hiring to Lift Job Seekers’ Spirits

Lately, the economy has been showing signs of improvement, including within the retail industry which has increased 20% over the past 18 months. This bodes well for the millions of people in the U.S. still searching work, especially with the upcoming holiday season. Typically, the months between October and December not only bring cheer (and days of shopping euphoria) to people, but also hundreds of thousands of seasonal jobs for job seekers.

The holiday season is the busiest and most profitable time of the year for many companies and requires extra hands. Industries that are in most need of help at this time tend to be retail, shipping / delivery, hospitality, restaurant,  customer service and sales.

There is also a possibility that these seasonal jobs can turn into permanent positions. For example, UPS is currently hiring thousands of part-time Package Handlers to prepare for the influx of deliveries during the holidays. However, they also provide full-time benefits for part-time work as well as tuition assistance. In addition, UPS is known for hiring from within - so a part-time package handler position could eventually turn into a senior manager position down the road.

Opportunities abound, but make sure to apply early for your best chance at these seasonal jobs.

Hot Locations this Past Summer

And we don't mean the weather! Simply Hired just released new data containing job trends during the month of July. According to the report, the most competitive of the top 50 metro areas is Atlanta, followed by Detroit and Raleigh-Durham. The least competitive metro areas in July were Albuquerque-Santa Fe, Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City (so if you’re in one of these areas, you’re in luck!).

Where the jobs are at
States with the fastest increase of unique jobs* –
1.    Pennsylvania – up 29%
2.    West Virginia – up 27%
3.    Louisiana – up 24%

States with the slowest increase in unique jobs –
1.    Oregon, Alabama, Iowa – down 4%
2.    North Dakota – down 1%

Metro areas with the highest increase in unique jobs –
1.    Pittsburgh, PA  – up 40%
2.    New Orleans, LA – up 20%
3.    Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY – up 20%

Metro areas with the highest decrease in unique jobs –
1.    Des Moines-Ames – down 9%
2.    Milwaukee, WI – down 5%
3.    Birmingham, AL (Anniston and Tuscaloosa) – down 5%

* Unique jobs are the number of actual open jobs, not duplicated job postings.

Job Competition by Metro Area

Finding a job isn’t easy. But there are some job markets in the US where it’s easier to find jobs than others.

Simply Hired has recently released data on the best and worst markets for job seekers. These lists were determined by the ratio of job seekers to unique open positions (duplicates removed) in metro areas around the country.

According to our data, these are the five best markets for job seekers:

1. Des Moines – Ames, IA – 5 job seekers to every 1 job
2. Washington, DC – 5 job seekers to every 1 job
3. Omaha, NE – 5 job seekers to every 1 job
4. West Palm Beach – Fort Pierce, FL – 6 job seekers to every 1 job
5. Salt Lake City, UT – 8 job seekers to every 1 job

And these are the 5 worst job markets for job seekers:  

1. Detroit, MI – 46 job seekers to every 1 job
2. Grand Rapids – Kalamazoo – Battle, MI – 35 job seekers to every 1 job
3. Miami – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – 29 job seekers to every 1 job
4. Sacramento – Stockton – Modesto, CA – 28 job seekers to every 1 job
5. Las Vegas, NV – 26 job seekers to every 1 job