The 15 Best Cities For Job Seekers This Spring
Dell Inc./flickrLast week the U.S. unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.7% in February, up from 6.6% the month prior - but the labor force participation rate remained unchanged at 63% and the economy added 175,000 nonfarm jobs, beating economists' expectations.
A new survey released today by employment services firm Manpower Group offers more good news.
Manpower asked more than 18,000 employers in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas about their hiring plans for the three-month period ending in June and found that employers in all 50 states plan to increase their payrolls during the second quarter of 2014.
Of the surveyed employers, 19% expect to increase their payrolls and 4% say they'll decrease their staffing levels. This yields a net increase of 15% that plan to hire - or 13% when seasonally adjusted, which is unchanged from last quarter and up 2% from the second quarter of 2013.
"Overall, the second-quarter survey results are positive," says Jorge Perez, senior vice president of Manpower, North America. "We expect measured, stable growth in new hiring for the coming quarter. In fact, employers have reported the same modest hiring pace for three consecutive quarters now."
Here are the 15 best cities for job seekers this spring, ranked by the net percentage of employers in each city that plan to hire:
Provo-Orem, Utah
Net Increase: 29%
Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, S.C.
Net Increase: 22%
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.
Net Increase: 22%
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas
Net Increase: 22%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.
Net Increase: 22%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
Net Increase: 22%
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.Net Increase: 21%
Worcester, Mass.
Net Increase: 21%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.
Net Increase: 20%
Madison, Wis.
Net Increase: 20%
Salt Lake City, Utah
Net Increase: 20%
Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.
Net Increase: 19%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H.
Net Increase: 19%
Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla.
Net Increase: 19%
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.
Net Increase: 19%
"This survey is telling a positive story when it comes to hiring," Perez says. "Employers are telling us they plan to hire, and the predicted pace of hiring has been the same for the last nine months. The fact that employers are holding steady at a modest hiring pace means they are focused on agility. Adding staff at a slow but steady pace gives them the room they need to adapt along the way."