It's a job seeker's market in today's tight labor economy, where there are more job openings than there are workers to fill them. Those willing to pack up and move for a new job may want to consider a relocation to North Dakota or South Dakota, according to ZipRecruiter's latest analysis of the hottest hiring markets for 2020.
Fargo, North Dakota, takes the No. 1 spot as the area with the most job promise in the new year. The career site evaluated metro areas across the U.S. to find which markets had a large number and high variety of jobs, growing demand for workers, generous pay and more openings than workers to fill them. Each metro area was then awarded a score out of 100.
Fargo pulls ahead with with an index score of 89, in part because its job postings are growing at a rate of 55% per year, according to ZipRecruiter. The city has a high share of jobs in health care and social assistance, according to data from Deloitte and MIT, followed by openings in retail trade, and accommodation and food services. The city is also home to one of Microsoft's largest corporate campuses.
The Boston metro area comes in at No. 2. Job seekers have ample opportunities within the metro's cluster of universities and research centers, which provide a large market for information technology, biotechnology, finance, law and business services jobs.
And rounding out top three is another northern city: Sioux Falls, South Dakota. ZipRecruiter notes an impressive number of job openings in health care and financial services. The city has several major hospitals, including the headquarters for Sanford Health, which has nearly 500 job openings in Sioux Falls alone. South Dakota has no corporate income tax, which makes its cities an attractive place for companies to establish headquarters. Wells Fargo and Citi are some of the biggest employers in Sioux Falls.
While some usual suspects, like San Francisco and New York, make the list, others are more spread throughout the country.
Here are ZipRecruiter's top 10 hiring markets for 2020, major employers in each city and average yearly earnings according to May 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
10. New York, New York
Index score: 81
Major employers: JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citi, Mount Sinai Medical Center
Average income: $61,870 per year
9. Bismarck, North Dakota
8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7. Washington, D.C.
Index score: 83
Major employers: District of Columbia government, Fairfax County Public Schools, Montgomery County Public Schools
Average income: $70,980 per year
6. San Francisco, California
Index score: 84
Major employers: Charles Schwab Corp, Ernst & Young, Kaiser Permanente
Average income: $72,400 per year
5. Portland, Maine
4. Providence, Rhode Island
Index score: 84
Major employers: Textron, Citizens Financial Group, Nortek
Average income: $53,730 per year
3. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Index score: 86
Major employers: Sanford Health, Avera Health, Smithfield Foods
Average income: $44,850 per year
2. Boston, Massachusetts
Index score: 88
Major employers: Eaton Vance Corp., Massachusetts General Hospital, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Average income: $67,370 per year
1. Fargo, North Dakota
Index score: 89
Major employers: Sanford Health, North Dakota State University, Essentia Health
Average income: $49,260 per year
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