Seattle-Tacoma ranks 16th among hot job markets

Many island and peninsula residents prefer to live here because of the strong job market across the Sound. Here's a recent article that should be of interest to anyone considering a move here.

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - by G. Scott Thomas Bizjournals.com

If you need a new job, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area is not a bad place to look -- it's the 16th hottest labor market in America.

That's according to a new study by Bizjournals.com, which is part of the parent organization of the Puget Sound Business Journal. Bizjournals used a nine-part formula to analyze employment conditions in the nation's 100 major markets based on midyear data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and past data going back to 2001.



According to the study, Western Washington's vigorous growth can't compare to that of Florida, home to five of the 10 hottest labor markets in America. Cape Coral-Fort Myers holds first place in the national rankings, while Sarasota-Bradenton, Orlando, Lakeland and Miami-Fort Lauderdale are also in the top 10.

These Florida markets rank high because they all enjoy strong job growth and low unemployment rates:

The work force in Cape Coral-Fort Myers has expanded by 32.5 percent during the past five years, the fastest growth rate among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas. Sarasota-Bradenton is second in that category at 26.8 percent.
The five Florida markets have collectively added half a million jobs since 2001, led by gains of 194,900 jobs in Miami and 158,000 in Orlando.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers and Sarasota-Bradenton have the lowest unemployment rates in the national study group, 2.6 percent. The only non-Florida market below 3 percent is Boise, Idaho.
The two runners-up in Bizjournals' standings are No. 2 Las Vegas and No. 3 Phoenix, which have enjoyed consistently strong growth since 2002.

Las Vegas has boosted its employment by 25.6 percent in five years, the fastest rate posted by any market outside of Florida. Phoenix has added 271,900 jobs over the same period, the biggest gain in raw numbers for any metropolitan area.

Rounding out the top 10 in Bizjournals' rankings are Sarasota-Bradenton; Orlando; Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.; Lakeland, Fla.; Boise; Washington, D.C.; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, at No. 16, added 65,100 jobs for a 3.8 percent employment gain over the five-year period. The metro area now hosts 1.65 million jobs and in June posted an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent -- down more than half a percentage point from the 5.2 percent jobless rate a year earlier.

At the bottom of the national standings is New Orleans, the coldest job market in America.

Hurricane Katrina, which battered the Gulf Coast last year, cost New Orleans roughly one-third of its employment base. The area has 188,600 fewer jobs now than five years ago, an astounding decline of 30.2 percent.

Close behind on the list of coldest markets are Detroit and San Jose, which have both suffered serious losses since 2001.

San Jose, reeling from the dot-com bust at the beginning of the decade, is still down 162,300 jobs from 2001. But it seems to have begun a small rebound, actually adding 3,000 jobs in the past year.

Detroit, heavily dependent on the auto industry, has been struggling because of high gas prices and an inventory backlog. It has lost 123,300 jobs during the past half-decade, including 13,000 in the past year alone.

The remaining markets in the bottom 10 are Dayton, Ohio; Lansing, Mich.; Rochester, N.Y.; Springfield, Mass.; Boston; Milwaukee and Worcester, Mass.

The 100 areas in the study group collectively have 92.4 million jobs, which is up 2.5 percent from 90.2 million five years ago.

Contact: seattle@bizjournals.com • 206-583-0701