Top three cities adding the most jobs

Are you looking for a new job? Then it’s important to know that overall, the U.S. labor market continues to expand — although at a slower pace than a year ago. Overall, the number of jobs increased at a rate of 3.5 percent in September to a total of 5,960,400 job openings. Compared to 2018, the median base pay increased by 2.1 percent to a total of $54,179 per year.

Cities adding the most jobs

Of course, if you’re looking for a new job, it’s helpful to know where the growth is concentrated, as some cities will be better for your job search than others. Here are the top three cities adding the most jobs according to the Glassdoor Economic Research Blog:

1. Boston: Compared to September 2018, Boston showed a job growth of 8.4 percent in September 2019. There are currently 152,683 open positions, primarily in the healthcare, government, and non-profit sectors. Yet the growth has a diverse base — other sectors such as hospitality and consulting also showed strong gains. The median base pay increased by 2.8 percent over the last year to a total of $61,987 annually.
2. Philadelphia: The City of Brotherly Love saw a year-over-year increase in job growth of 6.4 percent, bringing the total number of job openings to 112,692 in September. The largest gains were in education and health services; professional and business services; mining, logging and construction; and leisure and hospitality, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median base pay increased by 1.9 percent to $57,502 per year.
3. Atlanta: Compared to September 2018, Atlanta’s labor market grew by 5.5 percent to a total of 122,889 job openings. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the leisure and hospitality industry saw the greatest gains, followed by professional and business services, as well as the education and healthcare sectors. The median annual salary was $56,059 — up three percent year over year. 

Challenging job markets 

According to Grant Suneson in his USA Today article “Recent college graduates may find it tougher to get a job in these cities,” the following cities are the most challenging to find work — especially for recent graduates:

1. East Stroudsburg, PA has a 4.9 percent unemployment rate and an average monthly wage of $1,816 for 22 to 24 year olds.
2. Yuma, AZ has a 19.6 percent unemployment rate and an average monthly wage of $2,069 for 22 to 24 year olds.
3. Jacksonville, NC has a 5.3 percent unemployment rate and a median monthly wage of $1,689 for 22 to 24 year olds.

 Although these areas have a challenging job market for young professionals, many other cities still show plenty of job growth, as we’ve seen. All in all, to land a job you truly want, it may be best to look outside of your own region and keep an open mind regarding relocating for work.

Source:

https://www.glassdoor.com/research/job-market-report-september-2019/

https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/news-release/areaemployment_philadelphia.htm

https://www.bls.gov/regions/southeast/news-release/areaemployment_atlanta.htm

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/09/05/worst-cities-to-find-a-job-for-recent-graduates/40037567/

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