If you are finding it difficult to get a job, it may be worth moving to one of the best cities in the US for jobhunters.
New data from the federal government shows the places with the highest percentage of jobs growth in the last year.
Although the data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics takes into account the largest cities in the country, many of the places with the most rapid job growth are smaller Midwest cities.
Topping the list is Rochester, Minnesota, which saw a 5.9 percent increase in employees between August 2023 and August 2024.
This brought the number of nonfarm jobs in the city up 7,400, from 125,500 to 132,900, the data revealed.
Nonfarm workers exclude farm workers, private household and non-profit employees and actively serving military.
New data from the federal government shows the places with the highest percentage of jobs growth in the last year
Rochester, which is located 85 miles southeast of the Twin Cities, has already seen a boom in population recently.
But tens of thousands of new residents are also expected to move to the city over the next two decades, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
This is thanks, in part, to massive projects like the ongoing $5 billion expansion of the award-winning Mayo Clinic medical center, which should bring even more jobs to the area.
The city in the US mainland with the second most rapid job growth is Pocatello, Idaho.
According to the Labor Department data, two cities in Puerto Rico – San German and Arecibo – saw higher jobs growth of 5.8 percent and 5 percent, respectively, over the year.
Pocatello, meanwhile, which is located beneath the Bannock Range mountains and is home to Idaho State University, saw a 4.7 percent rise in nonfarm employees.
Idaho has experienced high job and wage growth over the last five years, with a growing high-tech sector, Business Insider reported.
Third and fourth on the list are Champaign-Urbana, Illinois and St. George, Utah, which also both saw job growth of 4.7 percent over the year.
Champaign added 5,400 jobs, taking the total to 40,400 in August this year, while St. George added 3,900 jobs, taking the total to 87,500.
The city in the US mainland with the second most rapid job growth is Pocatello, Idaho
Fifth on the list is Madera, California, which saw a 4.6 percent increase in jobs
Champaign added 5,400 jobs, taking the total to 40,400 in August this year, while St. George (pictured) added 3,900 jobs, taking the total to 87,500
Home to the University of Illinois, Champaign has also seen a particular rise in tourism this year.
Jayne DeLuce, President and CEO of Experience Champaign-Urbana, told WCIA how there was a significant increase in travel to the area following the pandemic, and that has continued.
Jesse Hines, General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn, told the outlet how tourism used to be dependent on the University of Illinois’ schedule.
‘So when school was in town, we’d be busy, but we’d be slow in the summers and in the winters,’ Hines said.
‘And now we’re just always busy. We’re busy year-round.’
St. George, meanwhile, is home to Utah Tech University, and a growing tech industry.
Fifth on the list is Madera, California, which saw a 4.6 percent increase in jobs.
The city, which is a gateway to the popular Yosemite National Park, saw the number of employees on nonfarm payrolls rise to 45,100 as of August 2024, from 43,100 the year prior.
Rounding off the top ten cities for job hunters are Florence, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, College Station-Bryan, Texas, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Stockton-Lodi, California.
It comes as the US economy far exceeded expectations for job growth last month.
Employers added an estimated 254,000 jobs in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Employers added an estimated 254,000 jobs in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate also dropped to 4.1 percent, despite forecasts it would hold steady at 4.2 percent.
Stocks jumped following the blockbuster report, which provided Wall Street with further reassurance that the labor market is on solid ground.
The report also revised job growth figures from August and July. It added 17,000 to August’s total, bringing it to 159,000, and added 55,000 jobs to July’s total, upping the monthly growth to 144,000.
These upward revisions should ease concerns about the state of the labor market and likely locks in the Federal Reserve to a more gradual pace of interest rate reductions following its bumper cut last month.
Wall Street was spooked by the initial jobs figures for July, which were lower than expected, and sparked fears that the US was heading into a recession.
