Dear Yahoo!:
What state has the greatest opportunity for employment now?
Willing to Move
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Dear Will:
Let's go straight to that unimpeachable source of information: the government. The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out a monthly unemployment report, which it breaks down by region, geographic area, and state.
In August, Hawaii posted the lowest unemployment rate (2.8 %), followed by South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia (3.2% each), then Florida, Nebraska, Idaho, and Wyoming (3.3% each). Michigan and Mississippi suffered the highest unemployment rates, at 7.1% each. (The unemployment rate is defined as the "percentage of employable people actively seeking work, out of the total number of employable people.")
Employment opportunities by state might also be judged by job postings per capita. By this measure, California boasts three of the top five cities, led by San Jose in the top spot.
And finally, this site on occupational projections by state may come in handy if you're searching for employment. http://www.projectionscentral.com/projections.asp? It catalogs available jobs in hundreds of occupations state by state, even projecting to the year 2012. For example, that year will apparently see 130 jobs for Utah wellhead pumpers. Salt Lake City, here we come!
