America currently has an odd mix between unemployment and people quitting jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the jobless rate shrank to 3.9% last month, as the economy added 199,000 jobs. However, 4.5 million people quit their jobs or changed jobs in November, according to U.S. Department of Labor data. The number is extraordinarily high.
One theory about why people have left jobs in such high numbers is that older Americans have retired in large numbers because of workplace risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Another is that government payments to supplement incomes have allowed people to stay out of work for longer than usual. Yet another is that people who had very low-paying jobs believe that wages will rise quickly over the next several months as the jobs market tightens.
Location also affects job growth. Americans have become more mobile in the past year. People who live in expensive coastal cities like New York and San Francisco have moved inland to find more affordable places to live. This trend has been boosted by the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it easier to work from home, perhaps permanently. Some of these smaller cities have ballooned in population because of this unusual migration.
For its recently released State of the Labor Market report, Indeed Hiring Lab, using proprietary data, measured “US job postings on Indeed.com on January 7 were 61.9% above February 1, 2020, the pre-pandemic baseline.”
The study looked at employment growth by both job sector and location. Among jobs, Human Resources postings rose 128.2%, followed by Software Development at 115.6% and Logistic Support at 108.7%. The job category that lagged the most was Beauty & Wellness, with growth of 1.5%.
Based on city job postings, Boise topped the list at 94.8%. Because of an influx of people coming to the city, home prices there have risen 30% in the past year, well above the national average. The rush of people to Boise is not new. The Census Bureau shows that its population increased by 24.03% between 2010 and 2020, which makes it one of the fastest-growing cities in America.
These are the 10 cities with the fastest job growth:
- Boise City, Idaho (94.8%)
- Spokane, Wash. (90.8%)
- Durham, N.C. (90.7%)
- Las Vegas, Nev. (88.9%)
- Phoenix, Ariz. (86.2%)
- Austin, Texas (82.3%)
- Atlanta, Ga. (80.9%)
- Greensborough, N.C. (79.5%)
- Little Rock, Ark. (79.3%)
- Virginia Beach, Va. (78.7%)
Click here to see which is the fastest-growing city in each state.
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