Thread: The 10 American Cities With the Most New Job Openings

The 10 American Cities With the Most New Job Openings

• by
• Anne Fisher

• @anbfisher

FEBRUARY 9, 2016, 11:47 AM EST

Employment growth is all over the map.


Despite January’s hiccup in hiring, the economy has been steadily generating jobs at an annual rate of about 2%. But some cities outpaced the rest of the nation over the past 12 months, while others lagged behind. Dallas, for instance, came out on top in a new study of the 150 biggest metropolitan areas by CareerBuilder and its data analytics arm EMSI. The Big D’s 112,829 new jobs beat out even San Jose, Calif., which came in second place at 39,519 new jobs.

Meanwhile, job growth in the oil and gas industry stalled out in some places more sharply than others.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, for instance, added 2,295 jobs since last January. That was about 9,000 fewer than it would have gained if local hiring had matched the national rate. But it still outpaced last place-ranked Lafayette, La., another oil hub, which lost 2,100 jobs.

In all, new hiring in 27 of the largest U.S. cities outperformed the national average. The top 10, and the number of positions they created:

1. Dallas 112,829
2. San Jose 60,716
3. Los Angeles 159,477
4. Seattle 78,082
5. Miami 81,842
6. Atlanta 81,161
7. Orlando 50,384
8. San Francisco 69,967
9. Riverside, Ca. 50,511
10. Charlotte, N.C. 41,390

Job seekers in the bottom 10 cities in CareerBuilder’s study, by contrast, faced relatively slim pickings.

“Even though major metros like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia each added more than 30,000 jobs, they trailed behind national growth trends,” notes Matt Ferguson, CareerBuilder’s CEO. So did St.

Louis, Richmond, and Cleveland, while the number of job openings in New Orleans actually shrank by 2,491, due mostly to the oil and gas slowdown.

Apart from what it says about the most and least promising places to look for work, Ferguson sees the research as a snapshot of different regions’ overall economic health. “At its core, the study measures employer confidence,” he says. “If companies are adding jobs at a faster rate in certain markets, that bodes well for housing and consumer spending in those local economies.” He expects the top 10 job markets to show above-average growth through the rest of 2016.

http://fortune.com/2016/02/09/10-us-...most-new-jobs/

California solar industry job growth reaches record levels


California added more than 20,000 new solar jobs in 2015, more than half of the nation's total. Above, Elgin Clark, left, and Edgar Palma of Sunrun home solar company install a solar panel on a home in Van Nuys.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)


Ivan Penn Contact Reporter


California led a record-breaking year for solar power in 2015 that included the addition of more than 20,000 new jobs within the state -- more than half of the positions the industry created nationwide, according to a new report.

The California Solar Jobs Census report released Wednesday found that roughly one out of three employees in the solar industry works in California.

By the end of 2015, that total number of solar workers in the state exceeded 75,000. That's more than all jobs held at state's five largest utility companies combined, according to the California Solar Energy Industries Assn.

“Solar power is a bright spot in California’s economy, bringing jobs and economic development to every corner of the state,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the solar association. “While conventional energy industries are losing jobs, we are seeing record growth, and bringing clean air and climate solutions along the way.”

Andrea Luecke, president and executive director of the Solar Foundation, which produced the report, said the 20,000 new jobs in California "marks an industry milestone."

Nationwide, the total number of solar industry jobs increased by more than 35,000 as of November to a total of almost 209,000 workers.

“Our data since 2012 show that half the states in the country have at least doubled their solar workforce,” Luecke said.

The jump in jobs was driven by record growth in solar installations. U.S. solar capacity jumped by 7,400 megawatts, enough to power roughly 1.4 million homes. That was nearly 20% more growth than in 2014. Total U.S. solar capacity reached 27.5 gigawatts, which has the generation potential of about 54 coal-fired power plants.

California continued its growth in installations but the pace slipped downward slightly from 2014 to 2015. Still, the 3,000 megawatts of solar installed in California was more than the next six largest 2015 solar markets combined.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...209-story.html