Can't Find a Job in 2010? Consider Moving

Although job losses have been significant in major cities such as Phoenix, Chicago, and Los Angeles, smaller communities have also been affected. However, certain areas of the country have more jobs per capita than other areas.

If you have exhausted all of your resources in your locale, maybe it's time to consider relocating.

Those who decide to relocate may be concerned about other factors than employment, such as cultural opportunities, climate, etc. There are several websites that provide information on "the best places to live." For those who wish to use a customized approach to picking a spot, go to findyourspot.com. At Find Your Spot's website, the locale seeker takes a fun online quiz, which instantly provides you with a tailored list of the best cities and small towns that fit YOU. Compare the perfect hometowns and undiscovered havens that match your interests. Dig deeper with colorful reports, job listings, and more. It's fun & easy! (Find Your Spot)

City-Data.Com supplies information on many cities throughout the USA. To find information on a city you are interested in, simply enter the city and state in a search field, and press enter. Some of the items that City-Data provides information about include demographics, climate, population, crime and pollution statistics, household income, and cost of living. One very helpful feature of this website is that it shows comparisons of the city/state with the national average. Other helpful features include an online forum that you can browse to see what residents and visitors say about the city, and links to housing-apartments and homes for sale, local businesses, and maps. This is probably my favorite website for obtaining information simply because of the vast amount of information in one place.

At Indeed.com job seekers can see instantly which areas of the country have the most jobs per capita by looking at a map of the USA. Red dots indicate jobs--the bigger the dot, the more jobs. Indeed also provides a list ranking the cities from top to bottom for jobs.

Another interesting site providing information on job growth is New Geography.com New Geography ranks small, medium, and large cities with the best job growth. Amazingly, Springfield, the capital of Illinois, ranked 42 in this listing for job growth.

Of course, there are also hot job/growth listings by Forbes, Fortune, US News & World Report, and many others.

If you can't find a job in your field through any of these sources, it may be time to consider switching fields.

Next up, an article on the best way to switch fields and what jobs are hot for 2010-2011.

Sources

City-Data.com, http://www.city-data.com

Indeed.Com, http://www.indeed.com

New Geography, http://www.newgeography.com/content/001515-small-cities-rankings-2010-best-cities-job-growth