Jobs are everything to an economy. Period. As I frequently say, “There are three groups of people that do not need a job to buy a house: those with gray hair, blue hair or no hair – we call them retirees.
Good news for job seekers is that if a person has a marketable skill set, there are jobs out there. The unemployment rate of 4.1 percent is a 17 year low. Even better news is that employers have increased hiring of new college graduates. The National Association of Colleges and Employer say employers plan to hire 4 percent more members from the Class of 2018 than from the previous graduating class.
Where are the best possible markets to find a job? To answer this, WalletHub examined the 150 most populated cities in the U.S. plus at least two of the most populated cities for each state. They completed their analysis using two primary components of data: the Job Market and Socio-Economic factors.
Job Market — 80 Points
Job Opportunities (7.62 points) – number of job openings per number of population in labor force minus the unemployment rate
Employment Growth (7.62 points) – rate of annual job growth adjusted by the working-age population
Monthly Average Starting Salary (3.81 points) – adjusted for the cost of living
Unemployment Rate (7.62 points)
Underemployment Rate (3.81 points)
Industrial Variety (3.81 points)
Employment Outlook (7.62 points) — Manpower Outlook Survey
Job Security (3.81 points)
Job Satisfaction (3.81 points)
Retirement Access & Participation (3.81 points) – employer-based retirement plans
Access to Employee Benefits (3.81 points) – share of employees with private health insurance
Presence of Work-Share Programs (3.81 points) – ability of employer to temporarily reduce employee work hours instead of laying them off in economic downturns
Full-Time Employment (3.81 points) – number of part-time employees per 100 full-time employees
Access to Internships (3.81 points) – number of internships to total civilian population aged 14 to 24 in the labor force
Apprentice-Trainee Job Openings as a Percent of Total Jobs Posted on Glassdoor.com (3.81 points)
Percent of Workers in Poverty (3.81 Points)
Disability-Friendliness of Employers (3.81 points) – percent of people with disabilities employed
Socio-Economic Factors — 20 Points
Median Annual Income (2.22 points0 – adjusted for cost of living
Average Work & Commute Time (2.22 points)
Transit Accessibility of Workplace (2.22 points)
Housing Affordability (2.22 points)
Annual Transportation Costs (2.22 points)
Safety (2.22 points) – crime rate
Family Friendliness (2.22 points) – WalletHub’s Best Cities to Raise a Family
Dating Friendliness (2.22 points) – WalletHub’s Best & Worst Cities for Singles
Recreation Friendliness (2.22 points) — WalletHub’s Best & Worst Cities for Recreation
Where are the best most places to find a job in 2018 based on WalletHub’s analyses of the 182 cities included in the study? The first table shows the cities scoring the best in WalletHub’s study. Arizona dominates these findings with four slots in the top-10 and five of the top-20.
As always, when there are winners there are also losers. The following table shows the most challenging 10 markets for job seekers in 2018 based on the WalletHub methodology. While Arizona scored four-of-the-top-10 markets, Alabama ranks in three of the 10 most challenging markets to get a job in 2018.
To read the entire report from WalletHub including the ranking of 182 cities click https://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-jobs/2173/#peter-cappelli
Click here for a PDF that includes the ranking of all 182 cities along with respective scores.
No doubt the Tax Cut and Jobs Creation Act of 2017 will have some impact on these results.
Good news, though, is the increased forecast for hiring of new graduates in 2018.
Ted