If you’re finding it difficult to get a job, it may be worth moving to one of the best cities in the US for job seekers.
New data from the federal government shows the places with the highest percentage of job growth in the last year.
Although he data From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics takes into account the largest cities in the country, many of the places with the fastest job growth are smaller cities in the Midwest.
Topping the list is Rochester, Minnesota, which saw a 5.9 percent increase in employees between August 2023 and August 2024.
This raised the number of non-farm jobs in the city to 7,400, from 125,500 to 132,900, the data revealed.
Non-agricultural workers exclude agricultural workers, domestic and nonprofit employees, and active-duty military members.
New data from the federal government shows the places with the highest percentage of job growth in the last year
Rochester, which is 85 miles southeast of the Twin Cities, has already experienced a population boom recently.
But tens of thousands of new residents are also expected to move to the city over the next two decades. Minnesota’s star tribune reported.
This is due, in part, to massive projects like the ongoing $5 billion expansion of the award-winning Mayo Clinic medical center, which should bring even more jobs to the area.
The continental United States city with the second-fastest job growth is Pocatello, Idaho.
According to data from the Department of Labor, two cities in Puerto Rico, San Germán and Arecibo, experienced higher employment growth, of 5.8 percent and 5 percent, respectively, during the year.
Meanwhile, Pocatello, which lies beneath the Bannock Range mountains and is home to Idaho State University, saw a 4.7 percent increase in nonfarm employees.
Idaho has experienced high job and wage growth over the past five years, with a growing high-tech sector, Insider business information reported.
Third and fourth on the list are Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and St. George, Utah, which also saw 4.7 percent job growth during the year.
Champaign added 5,400 jobs, bringing the total to 40,400 in August of this year, while St. George added 3,900 jobs, bringing the total to 87,500.
The city in the continental US with the second-fastest job growth is Pocatello, Idaho.
Fifth on the list is Madera, California, which saw a 4.6 percent increase in jobs.
Champaign added 5,400 jobs, bringing the total to 40,400 in August of this year, while St. George (pictured) added 3,900 jobs, bringing the total to 87,500.
Champaign, home to the University of Illinois, has also seen a particular increase in tourism this year.
Jayne DeLuce, president and CEO of Experience Champaign-Urbana, said WCIA how there was a significant increase in travel to the area after the pandemic, and that has continued.
Jesse Hines, general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn, told the outlet that tourism used to depend on the University of Illinois calendar.
“So when school was in town, we were busy, but we were slow in the summers and winters,” Hines said.
And now we are always busy. We are busy all year round.
Meanwhile, St. George is home to Utah Tech University and a growing tech industry.
Fifth on the list is Madera, California, which saw a 4.6 percent increase in jobs.
The city, which is a gateway to the popular Yosemite National Park, saw the number of employees on nonfarm payrolls rise to 45,100 in August 2024, from 43,100 the previous year.
Rounding out the top ten cities for job seekers are Florence, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, College Station-Bryan, Texas, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Stockton-Lodi, California.
It comes as the US economy far exceeded expectations for job growth last month.
Employers added about 254,000 jobs in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Employers added about 254,000 jobs in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate also fell to 4.1 percent, despite forecasts that it would remain stable at 4.2 percent.
Stocks rose after the blockbuster report, which gave Wall Street further reassurance that the labor market is on solid ground.
The report also revised employment growth figures for August and July. It added 17,000 to the August total, bringing it to 159,000, and added 55,000 jobs to the July total, bringing monthly growth to 144,000.
These upward revisions should ease concerns about the state of the labor market and the Federal Reserve likely blocking a more gradual pace of interest rate reductions following its huge cut last month.
Wall Street was spooked by July’s initial employment numbers, which came in lower than expected, raising fears that the United States was headed for a recession.