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According to a new study by U.S. News & World Report, Columbus was noted as one of the Top 10 cities in America for finding a job. Our strong healthcare, distribution, and technology industries are cited as a main reason that our city has managed to remain stable during the national economic recession.
Other cities on the list include Arlington, Houston, Oklahoma City, and Salt Lake City. The full article can be read here. For a deeper look into the Columbus Economy, check out our detailed interview with Dr. Bill LaFayette here.
note, however, that columbus might be #1. (or maybe #10.) the list is alphabetical.
Thanks for the correction! Fixed the original post. How ridiculous to do a list like this in alphabetical order. :P
My MBA holding wife will love reading this article… after relocating here from Chicago to go jobless for 14 months.
@ KenOC. Likewise, my girlfriend is in much the same position.
@ KenOC & The Wayfarer: Ditto.
I’m sure everyone knows at least two dozen people hurting from the economy/recession, and obviously YMMV depending on job sector… but I don’t know if any tidbits of anecdotal evidence disproves this study.
Granted, these types of things should always be taken with a grain or two of salt, but from what I’ve read in other studies and articles… it doesn’t sound like the grass is necessarily greener on the other side of the fence just because there are some brown spots on this side.
Does that make me a brown spot?
I don’t think anyone doubts the study’s validity. It’s just hard for those looking for a job to read about this and not feel like squealing, “So what wrong with me??” Or at least that’s how I interpreted comments.
@KenOC, The Wayfarer & TaraK +2. Paul and I are still looking as well.
Walker – I think part of it has to do with what industry it is, too. Paul’s in IT, and it’s a) so specialized or pigeonholed and b) so typically outsourced that there’s very little out there, period. And the few new job leads that pop up every week aren’t in his area of specialty.
Speaking of which, it used to be that you’d go and get a college education and be able to get a job out of school. Now, they want a degree + experience + certifications to even look at your resume. I know it’s an employer’s market, but damn is it frustrating for those of us who want to work.
I am sure this type of list to come out during a recession is bound to create hostile reactions and therefore sell more mags. That is probably the reason why this isn’t a numbered list.
Yeah, as just about everything in US News &WR, this list is B.S. The unemployment rates by city are publicly available: http://www.bls.gov/web/laummtrk.htm
Columbus is #188, so, if you’re out of a job, you’re in good company.
The real story is who blew what editor to get c-bus in there. he/she/it should get a medal.
Serious question: Are unemployment rates the only metric that needs to be used when determining something like this? Does the percentage of people currently out of a job directly correlate with the average person’s ability/inability to find a job?
Because if so, that must mean that everyone should pack up and move to Bismarck, North Dakota (the #1 city on that list) because you’re practically guaranteed a job there, right?
I’ll believe it when I see jobs created…like one of my college professors keeps tell ing me, “the economy is in a recession, the economy is in a recession”…I am fed up with the same old damn talk, and so I will believe it when I see it…
@Walker
I guess the number of available jobs would be a better metric. You could have a 0% unemployment rate, but still not have any new jobs available. I don’t know if anyone measures “jobs available” though, so I’m willing to go with unemployment as a proxy. Clearly many people would rather be unemployed in Columbus (or anywhere else) than employed in Bismarck, or maybe people just don’t know that there are jobs available in Bismarck.
Also, there’s no guarantee that the jobs available in a city are high paying jobs or jobs in any particular sector, but the US News and World Report list is called “America’s Best Places to Find a Job.” It makes no qualifications about the kind of job.
@Walker @johnwirtz
Besides unemployment rate, there are a couple other things to look at. One is labor force participation. Unemployment rate only counts people who are actively looking for work, not those who have given up (i.e. no longer participating in the labor force).
There’s data on the number of jobs overall and by sector.
http://www.bls.gov/sae/data.htm
It’s not job openings but the overall number of jobs is an indicator of opportunity.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also has a Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. This gets most directly to the topic of discussion, but the survey doesn’t go down to the local level, just 4 broad regions of the U.S.
http://www.bls.gov/jlt/#data
Finally, within our state, Ohio Labor Market Information might have some specialized research on the topic. http://ohiolmi.com/data.htm
“Does the percentage of people currently out of a job directly correlate with the average person’s ability/inability to find a job?”
Yes
Citing “Useless News and World Distort” is likely to be met with spectisism at best.
I’m not saying it’s good to be looking for a job in Columbus. But short of the PETA website I don’t know of a place with a worse reputation for distorting facts.
Tenzo Says: Citing “Useless News and World Distort†is likely to be met with spectisism at best.
I mentioned a couple of comments ago that these types of “Best Cities for X” lists should be taken with a grain of salt, whether they’re from Forbes or CNN Money or Yahoo Finance or anywhere else. They generally seem to be little more than cheap attention grabs.
That being said, it doesn’t mean that it’s still not good marketing material for the cities on the list. Even if their metrics are a little bit different than what anyone here may personal gauge with, after reading a variety of other articles, I don’t think it’s too far fetched to believe that Columbus is ahead of the curve when compared to job opportunities in other US cities. Again, YMMV depending on sector.
jungaroo Says: Besides unemployment rate, there are a couple other things to look at. One is labor force participation. Unemployment rate only counts people who are actively looking for work, not those who have given up (i.e. no longer participating in the labor force).
Thanks for the clarification and thoughtful look at this, Jung. ;)
@Walker “They generally seem to be little more than cheap attention grabs.”
Yup. Forbes, Yahoo, etc. love those lists because they get people to go through multiple pages (and ads).
Here’s a ranking that lists cities based on # job postings vs. unemployment: http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends/unemployment
Columbus is #26
a green shoot: my wife received a job offer and accepted the day I posted this.
Good to hear! :D