Forbes recently announced a list of the 15 best cities in America for young professionals.  We took a look at hiring demand, trends and new jobs generated in these metropolitan areas over the past 60 days.

Forbes’ 15 Best Cities for Young Professionals 

Source: Forbes

 

Despite national unemployment hovering around 9.2%, new online job ads in these 15 metro areas are on the rise. This is good news for young professionals, who face increasingly fierce competition as they enter the workforce. More than 288,000 new jobs were advertised over the past 60 days in these locations, a 12% increase over the same 60-day period in 2010.  The Washington, DC metro area saw the highest volume of job ads, with more than 81,000 advertised online by corporate recruiter and staffing firms.  Salt Lake City saw the greatest year-over-year growth, posting 45% more jobs in 2011 than 2010. Little Rock was the only city to see a decline.

New Online Job Ads by Metropolitan Area – past 60 days

Source: WANTED Analytics

 

Since Computer Specialists are in high demand across the US, it isn’t surprising that tech jobs dominate the top 10 occupations being advertised in these 15 cities.  Computer Systems Analysts, Web Developers, Computer Software Engineers, Network and Computer Systems Administrators, and Computer Support Specialists appeared in the top 10 occupations, with a combined 48,681 new online job ads.  At more than 18% in growth, Retail Supervisors saw the highest increase over the same time period in 2010.  Other occupations with high demand included Registered Nurses, Marketing Managers, Accountants, and Administrative Assistants.

10 Most Demanded Occupations in Forbes’ 15

Best Cities for Young Professionals

Source: WANTED Analytics

Many of these positions are in high demand across the US making recruiting conditions difficult. However there will varying degrees of difficulty, depending on the location and position. For example, recruiters in Little Rock that are sourcing for Computer Systems Analysts are likely to experience the best recruiting conditions of these 15 cities for this particular occupation.  The Hiring Scale™ shows that their talent pool experienced the least demand over this 60 day period and contains about 25 candidates per open position.  The metro area where recruiters are likely to experience the hardest condition is Bridgeport.  Here, they average about 4 candidates per job ad placed during this 60 day period and fall below the national average of 6 candidates.  It is likely that recruiters in Bridgeport will spend a longer time and compete more fiercely to source qualified candidates for their openings.

Hiring Scales for Computer Systems Analysts in Little Rock, AR and Bridgeport, CT vs. US Average 

Source: WANTED Analytics

On the other hand, recent college grads, young professionals, and even experienced Computer Systems Analysts should look to Bridgeport when seeking employment.  Since recruiters here are in high demand, finding new work should be relatively easier than in some of the other 15 cities on Forbes’ list. Other locations that are likely to see relatively easy conditions for finding work in are Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Madison, and Raleigh.  These cities also fall below the nationwide average, with about 5 potential candidates per open position during this 60 day period.

To see how your city compares to these conditions, try the Hiring Scale.