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Published: Sep 08, 2015 4 min read
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Summer’s almost over, and between vacation travel and the sweltering August heat, you might feel like you could use some downtime from your downtime.

But when it comes to your job search, you might want to rev up your engines instead.

Fall is one of the busiest hiring seasons, which makes it an ideal time to kick your hunt into high gear. Between retail companies staffing up seasonal workers and hiring managers buckling down after the long summer, the fall months represent the year’s last big staffing push before things quiet down again in December.

Monster rounded up the 10 job categories that added the most positions in August, based on data from Wanted Analytics. So if you’re hoping to take a new step in your career this season and want to find the best odds for getting hired, start here:

  1. Office and administrative support
    Job listings added in August: 388,597
    Top cities: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York
    Top growth areas: Customer service representatives, first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers, executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
  2. Sales
    Jobs listings added in August: 374,332
    Top cities: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York
    Top growth areas: Retail salespersons, first-line supervisors of retail sales workers, sales representatives (wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products)
  3. Computer and mathematical occupations
    Job listings added in August: 381,443
    Top cities: New York, Chicago, Seattle
    Top growth areas: Software developers (applications), computer user support specialists, computer systems analysts
  4. Transportation and material moving
    Job listings added in August: 266,515
    Top cities: Chicago, Dallas, Houston
    Top growth areas:Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, light truck or delivery service drivers, laborers and freight, stock, and material movers (hand)
  5. Healthcare practitioners
    Job listings added in August: 252,428
    Top cities: Los Angeles, New York, Houston
    Top growth areas:Registered nurses, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, physical therapists
  6. Management
    Job listings added in August: 240,984
    Top cities: New York, Chicago, San Francisco
    Top growth areas: Marketing managers, medical and health services managers, sales managers
  7. Food preparation and serving
    Job listings added in August: 179,316
    Top cities: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles
    Top growth areas: First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers, combined food preparation and serving workers (including fast food), cooks (restaurant)
  8. Business and finance
    Job listings added in August: 166,759
    Top cities: New York, Chicago, Atlanta
    Top growth areas:Accountants, management analysts, human resources specialists
  9. Installation, maintenance, and repair
    Job listings added in August: 140,638
    Top cities: Houston, Dallas, Phoenix
    Top growth areas: Maintenance and repair workers (general), first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers, automotive specialty technicians
  10. Construction and extraction
    Job listings added in August: 111,669
    Top cities: Denver, Houston, Dallas
    Top growth areas: First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, construction laborers, construction carpenters

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