Here’s a quick look at the ten major American cities with the lowest unemployment, courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

1.      Washington, DC – 5.7%.

2.      Oklahoma City – 6.1%

3.      Minneapolis-St. Paul – 6.5%

4.      Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos – 6.8%.

5.      New Orleans – 7.0%

6.      Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News – 7.0%.

7.      Boston – 7.1%.

8.      Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis – 7.3%

9.      Richmond – 7.3%

10.  San Antonio-New Braunfels – 7.3%

What do these cities have in common? Most have a strong biotech sector, and several are hubs for package delivery. Oil is a big presence in Texas and Oklahoma, and the expansion of the federal government has helped Washington, DC come out on top.

Just so you know, here are the cities in which unemployment rates are higher than average:

• Las Vegas – 14.9%
• Riverside-San Bernardino – 13.9%
• Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville – 12.5%
• Tampa-St. Petersburg – 12.0%
• Miami-Ft. Lauderdale – 11.8%.

Recruiters and staffing professionals will obviously have a tougher time in these cities for now but as we all know, what goes up must come down.  At one time Las Vegas was one of the hot markets for finding a job in the US.

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