LinkedIn recently posted an article that illustrated how certain skills are more commonly listed by LinkedIn users in certain cities throughout the US. For instance, finance skills were disproportionately listed by users in New York city, outperforming other cities. After reading this article, we thought it would be interesting to see what skills were most in-demand in each of the metro areas with the highest number of job ads posted online during September. We examined metro areas since potential candidates can come from outside cities.

Most Advertised Skills by Metro Area

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Among the metro areas with the highest demand, skills didn't vary much. Structured query language (SQL) ranked high among the most commonly advertised skills in job ads in each metro area. This skill set appeared in the number one spot in all of the cities listed, except Los Angeles, where bilingual was number one. Bilingual speaking skills were in-demand in each area, except Washington, DC. Other skills that were in-demand in each location included, quality assurance, JavaScript, Java, and software development. Los Angeles and Washington DC had the biggest differences compared to the other cities. Bilingual Spanish speaking skills were also commonly advertised in LA and other tech skills were sought after in DC. Cyber security and systems development lifecycle were unique to the DC area. Investment banking skills were only commonly advertised in NY.

Of these cities, New York had the greatest number of potential candidates with SQL skills per unique job ad (45 candidates per job opening.) Recruiters are likely to feel more pressure filling job openings requiring this skill set in Washington, DC where there are fewer candidates per job ad (21 candidates per job opening.) Combine this skill set with certain occupations and the market pressure changes. In Washington, there are fewer qualified candidates per job ad with this skill combination, only 6 candidates per job ad. 

Market Pressure for SQL Skills in Washington, DC

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Are you also competing for these skill sets? What skills are unique to your area?