Here Are the 10 Hottest Job Markets for 2020
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If 2020 is the year you’re looking to restart your life with a new job in a new place (heck, why not even a new name while you’re at it?), then one of your best bets might be to lay down roots in Fargo, North Dakota.
Yes, you read that right.
In a new study from ZipRecruiter, the metropolitan area of Fargo topped the list of "10 Hottest Job Markets in 2020." Job postings have been growing at a rate of 55% in the area, where there is plenty of hiring going on at universities, hospitals, and a Microsoft campus. The abundance of career options just might be able to keep you feeling warm during those cold, cold North Dakota winters.
The Dakotas actually had a very strong showing overall in the ZipRecruiter study, with Sioux Falls, SD, coming in third and Bismarck, ND, in ninth place. (In Money's 2019 Best Places to Live list, Fargo is ranked #47, while Sioux Falls holds the #50 spot.) The ZipRecruiter study noted that a major reason for this is because all three metropolitan areas in the Dakotas have a high opportunity index score, meaning the ratio of job openings to candidates is favorable towards candidates. To put it plainly: your chances of getting hired are better when the population of your city is fairly smaller.
Bigger metropolitan areas such as San Francisco and New York City fared well in ZipRecruiter's "Hottest Jobs Markets" study too. Here's the full top 10:
- Fargo, ND-MN
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- Sioux Falls, SD
- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
- Portland-South Portland, ME
- San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- Bismarck, ND
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Meanwhile, with such hot job markets around the country, you probably want to know what kind of jobs employers are looking to fill.
According to new research from Payscale, the top five job titles that came up the most in job listings in 2019 were Foreman, Full Stack Software Engineer, Director of Marketing, Machine Operator, and Personal Shopper.
Payscale researchers attributed the 195% growth in ‘Foreman’ jobs over the last year to the residential housing boom, while also noting that many of the tech jobs on the list weren’t necessarily hiring in the tech industries themselves. Industries like construction, healthcare, and retail are all looking to catch up with digital innovation and marketing, so you shouldn’t be too worried if your degree is in computer science but you don’t live near a big tech campus.
If you feel burnt out in your current work situation and are ready to make the leap to a new location or a new industry, check out Money’s free resume template to start getting on the right career track.