Forbes and Ameritrade have released “The Best Cities for Jobs 2013,” which reveals the job potential in 10 ranked metropolitan areas throughout the United States.
A key finding is that those cities hit hardest by the recession are now enjoying some of the most profound recoveries. “Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of the San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City metropolitan division,” the report authors pointed out.
San Francisco is followed by Nashville and Salt Lake City, but Texas is the clear winner, in part because the survey’s methodology allowed the combination of multiple city areas into a single entry. Ft. Worth-Arlington, Houston-Sugarland-Baytown, Dallas-Plano-Irving and Austin-Round Rock all appear on the list, even though Austin dropped from first place in 2012 to tenth in 2013.
San Francisco won the top spot primarily through its expanding technology sector – specifically, information technology, a field that also secured Silicon Valley a spot on the list. The many Texan entries sprang not only from an expanding realm of entrepreneurship but also from a focus on energy and innovative ways to process oil and gas and alternative fuels, in particular.
Texas also won multiple spots on the “Best Small Cities for Jobs 2013” list. Meanwhile, industrial centers in New Jersey and old manufacturing centers in St. Louis and Cleveland are considered the worst places to look for a job in 2013.
Other similar lists disagree with the top positions in the Forbes/Ameritrade report. In AOL’s “10 Best Cities to Find a Job,” Texas showed up numerous times and Austin still took first place. However, Washington, D.C., scored ahead of San Francisco and new entries such as Seattle made an appearance. Meanwhile, U.S. News & World Report placed Washington, D.C., at the top followed by Salt Lake City and – a new entry – Boston.
The differences between these jobs lists reflect varying styles of information gathering. The Forbes list gave weight to specific industry activity, which is why technology and energy scored so highly. AOL looked at lifestyle factors such as median rent rates and median salaries – San Francisco, for example, fell behind because of its extra-high rents, despite its newfound job market. In the U.S. News list, individual employers, such as major health care, insurance and government organizations, were given more weight, which in turn moved Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City to the top positions.
Fortunately, despite the different rubrics used, the job market for a variety of American cities on a positive trajectory, giving job seekers – particularly graduates with flexible living conditions – more opportunity.
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