You might be looking for a job right now and finding nothing in your area. And so you might be thinking about moving to another region where the job prospects might be a little better. The question is, where are the areas right now where firms are hiring?
One place to check is the list compiled by job search sites CareerCast.com and JobSerf, who bring together huge databases of management job openings. The list shows the cities with the most openings for executives. Moreover, in order to calculate the lists, the companies determine the number of help-wanted ads compared to the population of the city, which gives an idea of hard it is to find a management job in each area.
The January 2012 report shows that the best place to look for a management job is Washington, D.C. Second on the list is Boston, followed by San Francisco, Seattle (in which the Opti Staffing Group has an office), Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, and New York City.
Another study done by the Milken Institute looks at economic data from 200 large and 179 smaller cities to come up with a ranking of the hottest local economies, areas where companies are most likely to be doing more hiring.
And the data shows that four of the top five cities for economic activity are in Texas. The two best cities economically are Houston and San Antonio. Employers in Texas, according to the report, are creating one out of every six new jobs in the United States.
The reasons cited for the business boom are low business costs, more trade with Mexico and South America, a lot of energy exploration and development, and recruiting of new business to the state.
Another report also showed that people who relocated were generally happy with the move. Almost 80 percent reported that they were glad that they had relocated to find work.
Whether a company will help with the cost of relocating is another matter, however. The number of companies willing to pick up the tab for moving has been declining. In 2007, for example, about 40 percent of the companies surveyed reported that they would pay for a candidate to visit their new location. That number took a nosedive in 2011 to just 14 percent.
But the type of job you have may make a difference as well. Companies are more willing to pay for relocation for engineers, for example.
If you’re thinking of moving to another city to find work and you live in Portland, Seattle, Anchorage, Lake Oswego, Tacoma, or Chicago, stop by an Opti Staffing Group branch first – we can help you find temporary and direct-hire assignments with some of these cities’ best employers. Contact us today!