10 Easiest Cities to Find a Job in 2016

If you are a recent graduate, middle-aged professional who is considering changing career or just a person curious about the state of US labor market, here is the list for you – 10 easiest cities to find a job in 2016. With unemployment rates continuing to go down and job market gaining millions of new openings, it seems that America’s economy has been slowly recovering from the blow it suffered during recent recessional years. Still, job growth has been uneven across the US, and while some places are facing a lack of labor force, others are struggling to drop down the number of jobless residents.

BLS reports that in the period between December 2014 and December 2015, the US’ job market gained 5.6 million job openings, which is more than in 2007, the year when the number of new jobs reached the peak. Hires have returned to their pre-recession levels, and separations are near the figures from 2005. Finally, the ratio between unemployed people and job openings has significantly declined in last six years. While in 2009, 6.8 jobless working age Americans applied for one job, in December last year, that number was 1.4, which is an improvement, even compared to pre-recession 2007, when there were 1.8 unemployed persons per one job opening. While these numbers look promising, they do not depict the whole reality of US economy and its struggles to recover from the recession.

The latest National Association of Counties’ study, which examined the state of counties economies taking into account annual changes in jobs, unemployment rate, economic output (GDP) and median home prices, showed that only 7 percent of all analyzed areas recovered in all four indicators while 16 percent have not showed improvements in any area. The decline in unemployment rates and the return of home prices to their pre-recession levels are two most pronounced indicators that US economy is slowly going towards full recovery. However, in terms of economic output and job gains, the majority of counties did not make much progress. Nevada is one of the few states in which counties recorded better economic growth, which is one of many reasons why you should check out our article 11 best places to get married in Las Vegas.

In creating the list of 10 easiest cities to find a job in 2016, we used rankings made by Indeed and WalletHub. Indeed, which gathers job postings from 1000’s websites, made a list of 50 US cities with the highest number of job openings per capita, while WalletHub based its ranking of job markets using 8 different criteria, including employment growth and opportunities, unemployment rate, industry variety and so on. We found most populous cities that appear on both lists and listed them by average ranking. We also present you each city’s unemployment rates and job growth (data taken from BLS), average hourly wage for December 2015, and per capita personal income (PCPI) which was obtained from Bureau of Economic Analysis

10. Cincinnati, OH

Indeed Rank: 19 (35 jobs openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 27
Average rank: 23

Population: 2,149,449
Unemployment rate: 4.3
Average hourly earnings: $24.12
Job growth rate 2015: 1.9
Per capita personal income: $45,878

We start with Cincinnati, the area which recorded one of the smallest job growths among listed places. In the last twelve months, the city gained 19,700 new positions which accounted for 1.9 percent in employment growth. With 10,000 new posts, trade, transportation, and utilities saw the greatest surge of job openings. On the other side, the number of people employed in leisure and hospitality, on one side, and the government, on the other, decreased by 2 and 2.8 percent, retrospectively. In the last six months, the unemployment rate has slightly dropped down from 4.6 to 4.3, which means that there were around 45,700 jobless people at the end of 2015. Although the numbers seem promising, the average hourly wage of $24.12 is one of the lowest on the list. At the same time, per capita personal income of $45,878 is a little less than the national average of $46,049.

9. San Jose, CA
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara

Indeed Rank: 1 (71 jobs openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 44
Average rank: 22.5

Population: 1,952,872
Unemployment rate: 3.8
Average hourly earnings: $40.89
Job growth rate: 4.4
Per capita personal income: $73,887

San Jose ranks high by a few parameters among listed place. The area has the highest number of job openings per 1,000 on Indeed, the average hourly wage of $40.89 greatly exceeds earnings of residents from other nine listed places, and PCPI of $73,887, which is 160 percent of the national average, is the highest on the list. Moreover, 46,100 new job openings accounted for employment growth of 4.4 percent, while the percent of unemployed residents has declined to 3.8. Professional and business services, and education and health services recorded highest gains in new posts while mining has remained the industry in which people continue to lose jobs.

8. Orlando, FL
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford

Indeed Rank: 17 (36 job openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 25
Average rank: 21

Population: 2,321,418
Unemployment rate: 4.3
Average hourly earnings: 23.78
Job growth rate: 3.3
Per capita personal income: $37,104

Unlike San Jose, Orlando ranks low by hourly wage and PCPI, which is 80 percent of the national average. Moreover, this is one of the rare places that saw a decrease in the number of jobs in the information sector. Still, in the last twelve months, the unemployment rate decreased by one percent while the area has gained second-highest number of new jobs in Florida. Fastest job growth occurred in leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services, 5.3 and 4.2 percent, retrospectively, which is higher than the state average for these industries.

7. Dallas, TX
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

Indeed Rank: 20 (34 job openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 15
Average rank:17.5

Population: 6,954,330
Unemployment rate: 3.7
Average hourly earnings: $26.08
Job growth rate: 2.9
Per capita personal income: $49,506

With almost 7 million residents Dallas is the fourth largest metro area in the US and the most populated one on this list. In the last twelve months, almost 100,000 new positions have been added to the job market in Dallas. Trade, transportation, and utilities, the sector that employs the greatest number of workers, saw the greatest surge of new posts (23,900). On the other side, mining and manufacturing lost 5,900 and 7,100 jobs, retrospectively. At the end of 2015, around 131.200 people were unemployed, which is approximately ten thousand less compared to August 2015. With 420,000 workers, the government is one of the biggest employers in the area.

6. Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington

Indeed Rank: 8 (40 job openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 22
Average rank: 15

Population: 3,495,176
Unemployment rate: 3.1
Average hourly earnings: $26.82
Job growth rate: 3.1
Per capita personal income: $53,166

Minneapolis recorded steady gains in new jobs – around 34,000 positions have been added to the job market. More than two-thirds of new jobs occurred in professional and business service (10,200) and health and education (13,200). On the other side, four sectors recorded negative job growth. Trade, transportation, and utilities lost the greatest number of jobs, around 3,600. At the end of last year, 60,600 people did not have a job, which is 12,000 less compared to July 2015.

5. Raleigh, NC

Indeed Rank: 3 (54 job openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 26
Average rank: 14

Population: 1,242,974
Unemployment rate: 4.4
Average hourly earnings: $25.45
Job growth rate: 1.8
Per capita personal income: $46,636

With 1.2 million residents Raleigh is the least populated area on the list 10 easiest cities to find a job in 2016. Among the listed places the area had the smallest job growth. In the last twelve months, around 10.400 have been added to the job market, which accounted for 1.8 employment growth rate. The sectors that had the greatest number of job openings were trade, transportation, and utilities. On the other side, negative job growth occurred in mining, manufacturing, and leisure and hospitality. Although hourly wage is little more than US average, costs of living in Raleigh are not as high as in other listed places. Average annual expenditures are little less than $50,000.

4. Seattle, WA
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue

Indeed Rank: 6 (42 job openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 21
Average rank: 13.5

Population: 3,671,478
Unemployment rate: 5.0
Average hourly earnings: $34.57
Job growth rate: 2.1
Per capita personal income: $58,205

With almost 100.000 working age residents without the job, Seattle has the highest unemployment rate on the list. This is also one of the few cities on the list in which unemployment has increased in the last few months. According to some economists, the reason behind this negative trend is the minimum wage rise to $15 which is the highest in the US. Currently, the average hourly wage is almost $35, while per capita, personal income of $58,208 is above America’s average. Although the city of Seattle lost around 11,000 jobs, the whole metro area recorded job growth of 3.0 percent, or in other words, 56,800 new jobs appeared on the market.

3. San Francisco, CA
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward

Indeed Rank: 16 (36 job openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 9
Average rank: 12.5

Population: 4,594,060
Unemployment rate: 3.9
Average hourly earnings: $35.03
Job growth rate: 3.0
Per capita personal income: $72,364

In the period between December 2014 and December 2015, San Francisco gained 66,300 new jobs. At the same time, the unemployment rate declined from 4.4 to 3.9. Professional and business services, where almost half a million people work, added 23,900 new positions. On the other side, mining and financial sector had a small negative job growth. Although the area has one of the highest hourly wage and PCPI, which is well above US average, its residents must count on the high costs of living. In 2014, the average annual expenditure was $68,765.

2. Austin, TX
Austin-Round Rock

Indeed Rank: 5 (42 job openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 4
Average rank: 4.5

Population: 1,943,299
Unemployment rate: 3.1
Average hourly earnings: $26.30
Job growth rate: 3.8
Per capita personal income: $47,026

Two things distinguish Austin from other listed places. First, this is the only area in which there was job growth in mining sector – 4,200 new positions were added between December 2014 and December 2015. And secondly, with 171,900 workers the government is the largest employer. In terms of other indicators, Austin had steady employment growth of 3.8 percent. Professional and business services gained the largest share of new jobs, while manufacturing was the only sector that recorded negative employment growth.

1. Salt Lake City, UT

Indeed Rank: 2 (57 job openings per 1,000)
WalletHub rank: 3
Average rank: 2.5

Population: 1,153,340
Unemployment rate: 2.8
Average hourly earnings: $25.98
Job growth rate: 2.6
Per capita personal income: $41,940

Salt Lake City ranks as first on our list of 10 easiest cities to find a job in 2016. The area has the smallest unemployment rate among listed places. In the last twelve months, there have been 19,900 new job openings which have been evenly distributed between industries and no sector recorded negative job growth. Although all these numbers make Salt Lake City look attractive to job seekers, PCIP of $41,940, which is around 4,000 less than the national average, opens the space for doubts whether the area is the best choice for developing a career, especially having in mind that the average annual expenditures for West Region are $57,181.