s/o Which city has the most improved job market (lowest unemployment) for professional jobs?

[Anonymous]

We all know North and South Dakota are skewing the numbers due to drilling, but any sense of which cities have the most improved unemployment rate for white collar jobs? Can't be DC with the lack of gov't hiring and the law job market right now.

[Anonymous]

I haven't looked in the last few months, but the Texas cities were doing really well for a while there. Their overall unemployment rate was not that great, but it was because there was a huge amount of in-migration.

[Anonymous]

Minneapolis all the way

And DC still has a great job market compared to many parts of the country. There are other opportunities here besides gov and big law.

[Anonymous]

Actually, here is a list. It's not specific to white collar jobs, but I imagine it's a good indicator of which areas are providing the most opportunities


Unemployment Rates for Large Metropolitan Areas
Monthly Rankings
Not Seasonally Adjusted
May 2013
Rank Metropolitan Area Rate
1 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 4.7
2 Oklahoma City, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.0
3 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.2
4 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.4
5 Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.5
6 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 5.6
7 Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.0
7 Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.0
7 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.0
10 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH Metropolitan NECTA 6.1
10 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.1

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/minneapolis-has-lowest-unemployment-rate-major-us-city

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Minneapolis all the way

And DC still has a great job market compared to many parts of the country. There are other opportunities here besides gov and big law.

Serious question from someone who is trying to relocate to DC -- where does one look for general business/management jobs in DC? There seems to be so little private industry -- as in HQs of corporations or even consulting firms that aren't completely affected by gov't like Booz. I feel like there are so many associations and trade groups but are they posting jobs some place, or is it one of those things where DC folks know which trade groups they'd target if they were looking for jobs? I am not even trying for gov't and biglaw bc I'm at the stage in biglaw where I'm a bit too senior and I feel like it takes years to get into the gov't even if you know someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Minneapolis all the way

And DC still has a great job market compared to many parts of the country. There are other opportunities here besides gov and big law.

Serious question from someone who is trying to relocate to DC -- where does one look for general business/management jobs in DC? There seems to be so little private industry -- as in HQs of corporations or even consulting firms that aren't completely affected by gov't like Booz. I feel like there are so many associations and trade groups but are they posting jobs some place, or is it one of those things where DC folks know which trade groups they'd target if they were looking for jobs? I am not even trying for gov't and biglaw bc I'm at the stage in biglaw where I'm a bit too senior and I feel like it takes years to get into the gov't even if you know someone.

as a DC basher this was true 15 years ago...however when the gov expanded massively after 2000, lots of smart 'knowledge workers' were attracted to the area.....this lead to a huge number of 'knowledge workers' that became an attractive labor pool for private sector companies to tap into. Therefore you saw companies such as Volkswagen relocate their HQ from detroit to DC (NoVA).

It is a virtuous cycle now that was started by gov largesse but now with private companies in hordes here, keeps attracting more and more white collar types eager for the employment opportunities afforded by both gov and private.

VW, Hilton (moved from CA), Marriott, Capital One, Blackboard, rosetta stone, Gallup....just for starters.

That said, you will find more in ny and fairfield county, but thats just the way it is. DC is definitely more diversified now than in the past.

[Anonymous]

Ritz, KPMG, Deloitte, bcg, McKinsey, Carlyle group, google, etrade in Arlington, CEB

[Anonymous]

Minneapolis, Austin, Charlotte. Those have impressive economies and positive migration of educated people.

[Anonymous]

Miami is picking up a bit.

[Anonymous]

PP, Charlotte is not on the list though. What is happening in Charlotte?

[Anonymous]

I think the DC job market is strong at the moment. Judging by my DH who is job searching (and getting called back on virtually every job where he is interested), and by job changes recently announced by local friends/colleagues.