Whereas fast-growing cities like Raleigh and Nashville boast thriving job markets and excessive earnings, different main U.S. cities are combating low employment and declining wages.
Checkr ranked the 100 largest U.S. cities primarily based on employment alternative and incomes potential, utilizing information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Financial Evaluation.
Every metropolis’s employment alternative rating is predicated on its unemployment rate, labor drive progress, labor drive measurement and proportion of jobs open. The incomes potential rating is sourced from town’s actual per capita private revenue, 10-year revenue progress and the proportion of households incomes greater than $200,000.
In accordance with Sam Radbil, analysis and content material strategist at Checkr, the lowest-ranked cities on the record face a wide range of financial challenges, together with gradual job progress, overreliance on declining industries, low median wages and excessive unemployment and poverty charges.
Although a few of these cities might provide a extra inexpensive price of dwelling, they typically endure from “stagnant” employment and attract few new companies, he says.
These 10 U.S. cities scored the bottom for job alternatives and incomes potential, in response to Checkr.
- Bakersfield, CA
- Scranton, PA
- McAllen, TX
- Fresno, CA
- Memphis, TN
- Jackson, MS
- Rochester, NY
- Toledo, OH
- Augusta, GA
- Spokane, WA
Bakersfield, Scranton and McAllen had notably low scores on Checkr’s employment alternative metric, Radbil says.
One main issue is an absence of high-growth industries. Bakersfield and Fresno are largely reliant on the agriculture and vitality sectors, Radbil says, whereas Rust Belt cities like Scranton and Rochester are nonetheless affected by the results of business and manufacturing declines.
In accordance with Radbil, the above industries additionally are likely to require on-site work, which limits alternatives for distant staff.
Even in cities with extra employment alternatives, a greater job market would not assure increased earnings.
“Whereas jobs are troublesome to seek out, it is much more troublesome to receives a commission the nationwide common,” he says.
Unemployment is one other necessary concern: of the ten cities listed by Checkr, solely Rochester had an unemployment fee under the nationwide common of 4.2%.
In accordance with data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bakersfield and Fresno metro areas have two of the very best unemployment charges within the nation, at 9.6% and eight.5%, respectively.
McAllen and Jackson fare little higher, with unemployment charges of 6.4% and 6.2% every.
General, these cities wrestle to draw and retain expertise, Radbil says.
“There’s not a ton of recent jobs being generated, and that may at all times restrict the chance for a metropolis to develop,” he says.
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