There were three factors looked at when ranking the most recovered cities: how much the local unemployment rate has dropped since 2009, how much the local unemployment rate has risen, as well as the number of employed workers in the city, and how much wages have increased since 2009.
“It doesn’t tell us anything about the inequalities in cities, for example,” Chamberlain notes. “It doesn’t tell us about side-lined workers who have left the labor force.”
While the three factors don’t tell us everything, it gives job seekers and others a good insight into the recovery of the job market and what cities are bouncing back faster. Take a look at the top 15 cities that have recovered from the recession:
Of the top 15 rebounded cities, 5 are in Texas. The top two cities, Midland and Odessa, have a huge need for workers in the oil industry. Other areas including San Jose, Provo, Charlotte, and Raleigh have all rebounded well because of the technology boom.
“All the cities in which the tech industries is growing fast have universities nearby that feed skilled workers into those companies,” he says. But while tech depends on a constant flow of new graduates, the oil and gas industries are “quite a different story,” demographically speaking.
What this means for job seekers? While you might not be able to control the job market, you can control where you call home. If you’re interested in starting a new career or want more our of a career, look to these cities for answers.