Best Cities for Job-Hunting

3-½ minutes to read.

Over half of the top cities for job-hunters are in the same state. Any guess which one? Before I reveal the answer, let’s look at changes in real earnings.

Tampa skyline reflected in the river at dusk

Seasonally Adjusted Earnings

Real average earnings increased slightly from May 2023 to June 2023 and year over year and average hours worked increased 0.3%. It appears people worked longer hours in order to increase their income.

Current and real earnings table from the 2023 source document — Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Historical chart reproduced from the source document.

Since there’s no such thing as an average job, let’s go deeper.

Breakdown by Industry

While average weekly earnings for June 2023 were $1,155.15, when broken down by industry, they ranged from $539 to $2,098. Monthly changes ranged from -0.32% to 0.77%, with the median being 0.53%. Year over year, increases ranged from 1.77% to 5.54% with the median at 3.99%.

Earnings by industry table from the 2023 source document — Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Historical chart reproduced from the source document.

Let’s corelate changes in earnings with job growth by industry. Private Education and Health Services saw the largest increase in employment and earnings increased by 0.27%. By contrast, Retail Trade saw the greatest loss of jobs, yet earnings increased 0.17%. For the latter, even though employment shrank, businesses are still competing for workers.

Leisure and Hospitality had the largest increase in earnings, 0.77% with one of the largest increases in employment. But it also has the lowest wage level. On the other hand, Professional and Business Services had higher than median wage growth of 0.57% while experiencing job growth like Leisure and Hospitality. Wage level is in the top third.

Employment and average weekly earnings by industry from the 2023 source document — Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Historical chart reproduced from the source document.

For combining opportunity and earning capacity, so far, historic data point to Construction and Professional and Business Services being best.

Looking Forward

Revised numbers for May 2023 show job openings declined for most sectors. Construction and Professional and Business Services were among the three that showed small gains. That would seem to confirm that they are the two most promising industries.

Employment by industry table from the 2023 source document — Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Historical chart reproduced from the source document.

Source illustration not reproduced.

By the way, Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation showed the largest drop in job openings, 2.5%, reflecting the writers’ strike that began on May 2, 2023. Since the actors’ strike began July 14, it’s a good bet that the sector will continue to see job openings drop for many months to come.

The Top 6 States

Just six states have cities that are among the top 15 best for job-hunting. According to a June 5, 2023 article on moneygeek.com, Arizona, Idaho, and North Carolina have one each. Utah and Texas have two each. And the winner with eight?

Drum roll.

Florida.

Geoff Williams, who researched and wrote the article, based his assessment on four factors:

Job growth over the last 12 months

Wage growth over the last 12 months

Unemployment rate

Housing-to-income ratio

Jacksonville, FL tops the list of opportunity and affordability followed by Provo, UT, Dallas, TX, and Lakeland, FL, all of which had scores of at least 90.

For Gen Z, Provo far outstrips the competition as the only city with a score in the 90s and over 16% of its population in this age cohort. Austin, TX comes in second with a score in the mid 80s and 9.3% of its population being Gen Zers.

With remote work continuing to be prevalent, perhaps you can focus your job-hunt on these cities without having to relocate.

Where are you on your professional and financial journey? Are you looking to make a change?

How can I help you? Call, text, or email me.

Courage at all times,

Kevin

(310) 994-6385

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