Posts Tagged Employment

lumaxart

Yahoo Real Estate had an article which listed the top 10 cities for job growth. Here’s the list:

1. Huntsville, Alabama
2. Albuquerque, New Mexico
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Charlottesville, Virginia
5. Athens, Georgia
6. Olympia, Washington
7. Madison, Wisconsin
8. Austin, Texas
9. Flagstaff, Arizona
10. Raleigh, North Carolina

While energy and finance drove job growth in the past, this year’s list projected growth from other avenues:

Today, many cities are relying on government programs, universities and stalwart industries, such as health care, to bolster employment in a weak economy. Those factors appeared frequently when we assembled candidates for our 2009 Best Cities list, which focuses on places that have stable employment plus the talent to create new, well-paying positions. A robust job market makes these cities safe havens during the recession and will give them a head start toward growth when the recovery takes off.

I’m not so sure that I want to hang my potential job growth on government programs.  That’s exactly what’s driving the growth in Huntsville, our nation’s missile-defense hotbed, and D.C., where the government appears to be growing by the minute.  Charlottesville is dependent upon UVA, Norfolk Naval Base, and the U.S. Army’s Intelligence Center.  The state government employs half of Olympia’s workforce.  So that’s four out of the ten that are dependent on the government in one form or another.

What about growth in private sector jobs?  The only cities that talk about private sector growth are Madison (biotech) and Athens (manufacturing).  Sorry, but I wouldn’t call it growth if it’s funded by taxpayer dollars.  I think it’s shortsighted to rely on the government for creating jobs with tax dollars.  There’s an opportunity cost to the private sector in there somewhere.

What do you think?  Do I know what I’m talking about, or am I just a windbag?  Leave a comment (If you’re signed up with CommentLuv, you’ll get a free link back to a post on your blog).

Click here for the original article: Best Cities: It’s All About Jobs

Follow me on Twitter: CorpBarbarian

Sign up for email updates: click here

 Print This Post

• Dangerous Professions Photo by oskay I read an article about former NFL football players, and how they are being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease at a rate that's 19 times higher than the general population of men aged 30 to 49.  Holy smoke!  I'm glad that I was too small (at the......
• Seek Discomfort Photo by colinedwards99 There are always two choices, two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy. - Unknown Just about every piece of advice tries to make your workday less stressful.  To-do lists help us rank our tasks in order of importance. ......
• How Long Have You Been At Your Current Job? John-Morgan My company has an intranet home page where they post service milestones.  One of the guys who was featured this week has hit the 40 year mark.  FORTY YEARS AT ONE COMPANY! Wow.  These guys must be as rare as 300-game winners in baseball.  It's like Cal Ripken......

• $383,000 Stimulus Spent at Hollywood Spa for Georgia Teachers [/caption] DEKALB GA: Georgia teachers this week are staying at the posh Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa for an educator's conference. Those in attendance from the Dekalb school district include 39 principals, 32 assistant principals, 45 teachers, 50 reading and math coaches, and 20 central office staff. Remember that the Dekalb......
• 10 Economic Predictions for 2010 Before I begin, please do be aware I am not a financial or economic expert by any stretch of the imagination. Therefore please take in the content of this post with a critical degree of skepticism. From where I am sitting, this is what I forecast for our immediate......
• RCDL Roundup - Eggnog and Carols Break out the eggnog! It's Christmas time! Credit and Debt Credit Karma presents 2009 Credit Score Tips. My Two Dollars posts this Reader Question - Keep Emergency Fund Or Pay Off 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card? New Regulation on Credit Card Unfair Practices Approved details over at Blueprint for Financial......