It’s still rough out there for those who are hitting the pavement in search of employment. Sometimes, finding an opportunity may require being more flexible than you had originally intended—including relocating to a place that off hand you wouldn’t have before. But you may be surprise about where you could find your next job prospect. The Daily Beast recently compiled a list of the 20 best cities to find jobs. Here’s a look at ten of those cities:
10: Atlantic City, NJ
Jobs Gained: 16,267
The East Coast’s mini version of Las Vegas is offering opportunities in entertainment, food services and hotels.
9: Boulder, CO
Jobs Gained: 18,633
If you’re looking for science and technology jobs, you can find plenty in Boulder. Major employers include IBM, Electronic Data Systems, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
8: Tallahassee, FL
Jobs Gained: 19,145
Government is the main employer in this college town (home to Florida A&M and Florida State University) but there are also opportunities in printing and publishing, technology, and of course, education.
7: McAllen, TX
Jobs Gained: 24,401
Dallas isn’t the only city in Texas where the job prospects are booming. In McAllen, real estate and education are the prime sectors—with the University of Texas-Pan American campus and South Texas College near, there are plenty of teaching jobs. Forbes listed McAllen as one of the strongest real-estate markets in the U.S.
6: Poughkeepsie, NY
Jobs Gained: 26,170
The popular sectors in the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown metro area are health care, food service and education. IBM has a large campus there, in addition to Marist, Vassar and the Culinary Institute of America.
5: Durham, NC
Jobs Gained: 32,968
Many of Durham’s residents work in health and science. It has six hospitals, four institutions of higher learning, and the largest research park in the world. Durham is also in commuting distance to state government jobs in Raleigh.
4: Bethesda, MD
Jobs Gained: 66,276
Located on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., Bethesda is home to several government contractors, such as Lockheed Martin.
3: Boston
Jobs Gained: 186,457
Boston is home to major corporations including Liberty Mutual, New Balance and Gillette. It is also renowned for its top-notch scientific research centers, hospitals and universities.
2: Washington, D.C.
Jobs Gained: 261,465
The federal government continues to drive job growth in the nation’s capital; specifically, opportunities are available with defense contractors, law firms, nonprofits and lobbyists.
1: New York
Jobs Gained: 578,974
There will be plenty of jobs to be found in the next few years, and not just in Manhattan. For example, many companies, including Starwood Hotels, Allegiance Financial, Nokia and Heineken USA, are based in White Plains.
