The Best US Cities in Which to Find a Job

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As the calendar turned to spring, there was also a spring in the step of many job-seekers.  That may be because 49 of the top 50 metropolitan areas in the United States reported an increase in the number of job openings in the past month.  According to the Simply Hired April 2012 Employment Outlook, the Albuquerque and Santa Fe, N.M., metropolitan area outpaced all other cities in job openings. The state of Florida continued to see increased growth, with four of the top 10 cities for job opening growth.

"This year, we're seeing real stability in the job market, and the increases across industries and metros are promising," said Gautam Godhwani, CEO of SimplyHired.com. "With increasing employer confidence in the economy, job-seekers should see steady opportunities in the coming months."

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Job openings in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, N.M., grew by 8.7 percent in the past month.  Minneapolis followed with 7.5 percent growth while West Palm Beach, Fla., experienced growth of 7.4 percent.  Philadelphia and Baltimore both saw job openings grow by 7.1 percent.  The lone city with a declining number of job openings was Grand Rapids, Mich. The rest of the list of the top ten cites includes:

• Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (6.9 percent)
• Orlando, Fla. (6.7 percent)
• San Diego (6.6 percent)
• Jacksonville, Fla. (6.5 percent)
• Charlotte, N.C. (6.2 percent)
• New York City and Atlanta (6.1 percent)

A majority of these job openings were in the construction industry, which posted its third straight month of growth with an 11.3 percent increase in March.  Job openings in the military, media and travel also grew by double digits in March. Openings for sales representatives fell by 10.7 percent while openings for accountants dropped by 9.2 percent in March.

This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Reach BusinessNewsDaily staff writer David Mielach at Dmielach@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @D_M89.