“The $100k+ job market is simply not slowing down,” said Marc Cenedella, president and CEO of TheLadders.com. “If we use what is happening in the high end market as a measure of things to come, we may soon be seeing an increase in hiring activity across the board.”
Regional Job Market Analysis
TheLadders.com’s Quarterly Executive Job Market Trends Report measured hiring activity across a variety of metrics and found the hottest $100,000+ job markets to be New York, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Chicago. New York remains the land of opportunity among job seekers; it currently attracts the highest number of job-seekers from other parts of the country. The prospects for job seekers are also strong in New York with the ratio of job-seekers to job postings currently sitting at an attractive 3:1. Among the firms doing the most high-end hiring in the region are JPMorgan Chase, The McGraw-Hill Companies and General Electric.
Elsewhere in the U.S., the ratio of job seekers to available jobs is even stronger. Cities currently boasting a 2:1 ratio of job seekers to open positions are San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and San Diego. Companies doing the most high-end hiring in these markets include: Google, Fannie Mae and Qualcomm.
Tampa and Detroit are among the tightest markets in the 20 DMAs. Neither is currently drawing much attention from out-of-state job searches and there is stiff competition for every available opening.
Job Seeker Survey
As part of TheLadders.com Quarterly Executive Job Market Trends Report, active job seekers throughout the country were asked to weigh in with their own first-hand accounts on the status of the current job market in their cities. Job seekers were asked questions such as: How stable is the job market in your city? Do you feel that there are more opportunities in cities outside of your own? Where are the best opportunities?
Sentiment about the stability of the high-end job market was particularly strong among active job seekers. A 57 percent majority described the high-end job markets in their cities as either “stable” or “somewhat stable.” An additional 15 percent described their local job markets as “very stable (and growing!)”. Just over half of respondents said that now is a better time than last year to be looking for a new job, and a 67 percent majority expect their job searches to take less than 6 months.
Although the majority of job-seekers cited the stability of the high-end job markets in their cities, many believe that they would be better able to reach their career goals elsewhere. The city receiving the most votes as the best place for job seekers was New York. And, judging by the survey results, many executives would be willing to relocate for a shot at a great job offer; 74 percent of respondents said they’d leave their current cities for an out-of-town assignment.
