Job Numbers
When evaluating an area for employment, you will want to look at the availability of jobs in your profession. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides the best information for this. Go to their web page www.bls.gov and find Occupational Employment Statistics. Choose their “tables” and find the Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Employment and Wage Estimates. From there, you can choose a specific geographical area.
You will see the total number of jobs in your profession. There is also a very useful number called the location quotient. This quotient shows you the percentage of jobs in that location compared to the national average. A location quotient of 2, for example, means that there are twice as many jobs in your field compared to the county’s average. Other useful information includes the number of jobs in a profession per 1,000 jobs and wage data.
Unfortunately, the BLS site does not provide a ranking of areas that have the highest number of jobs in a profession. Instead, you have to go to the geographical area, see what the ranking is, and then go to the next geographical area in order to compare. Rankings by number of jobs and location quotient within a profession can be obtained for a fee of $25 by contacting dave@sugarcreek.biz.
Metro Area Economy
In selecting an area, you will also want to know the health of its economy. The BLS provides Local Area Unemployment Statistics, which will show the number of unemployed by metropolitan area.
You will also want to know the long-term prospects for an area. Many sites contain information on the major industries that a location provides. You will want to know what these are and to get a feel for the future of that industry. For example, biotech tends to be on the rise, while textile production tends to be shrinking. Try to learn whether the industries, including those in your profession, are increasing or decreasing. If newer, often smaller, businesses are not coming into being, the area may have a dim future. If an area is dominated by local government or facilities that must be in place in any community, such as hospitals, this may not be a good sign. It could indicate that the business base is not strong.