By David Balinsky
Forum Columnist
Share this article Published: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Too often, recent graduates look to cities such as New York, Boston, and Los Angeles to find jobs thinking these locales have a plethora of opportunities.
This year, however, east and west coast cities are not the places to look. Looking closer to home might likely prove more fruitful, according to Forbes. In two lists, one for large cities and another for mid-sized cities, Forbes.com lists the best cities for jobs in 2009.
Overall, Texas dominated the list, but Oklahoma found a spot on the list, as well.
Six Midwest cities found themselves on Forbes’ list for the ten best large cities in America.
Overall, Texas dominated the list, but Oklahoma found a spot on the list, as well.
No. 6 - Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City jumped from 30th on last year’s list. Employment rose a meager 0.4 percent, but considering many large cities lost jobs, this is actually very good.
— Most promising sectors: natural resources, mining and construction
No.5 - Dallas, Texas - Dallas is one of those cities that experienced negative growth. However, it has lost only 0.1 percent employment over the past year. Wholesale and manufacturing are two sectors that led the contraction in employment.
— Most promising sectors: government, education and health services
No. 4 - Ft. Worth, Texas - The economy has slowed but not as much as cities in the Northeast and West coast.
— Most promising sector: transportation
No. 3 - San Antonio, Texas- Education and health care have done quite a bit to spare San Antonio from much of the problems seen in the rest of the country.
— Most promising sectors: health care and education
No. 2 - Houston, Texas- Houston seems to be one of the most stable cities in America. Many job sectors experienced slow and stable job growth despite the economic turmoil the rest of the country experienced.
— Most promising sectors: education, health care, mining, natural resources and wholesale
No. 1 - Austin, Texas - Austin’s job growth during the past year was effectively zero. However, job prospects in many different job sectors make it rate as the best large city in the nation.
Most promising sectors: education, health care, leisure and hospitality
Forbes’ “Best Mid-Sized Cities” ranks four Midwest Cities in the top ten.
Many of these cities have oil and mining supporting them through these tough times. Again, Oklahoma has a representative on this list.
No. 6 - Corpus Christi, Texas - Last year, Corpus Christi was 111th on Forbes’ list. This year oil and construction have helped give it a boost.
— Most promising sectors: natural resources, mining and construction
No. 5 - Kansas City, Kan. - In 2008, Kansas City lost only 600 jobs. This stability is due to everything from oil to business services.
— Most promising sectors: natural resources, business services and government
No. 2 - Tulsa - Oil is usually the first thing most people think of when Tulsa comes to mind. However, Tulsa has found itself in great shape in many different sectors. Business services, health, education and government have all experienced double digit growth over the past year.
— Most promising sectors: natural resources, business services, health, education and government
No.1 - McAllen, Texas - Education and health care grew almost 50 percent over the past five years. Government also employs about a quarter of the population.
— Most promising sectors: health, education and government
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