Forbes ranks Raleigh No. 2 easiest city for finding a job right now
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A new study says the job market is more plentiful for those looking for work in Raleigh.
According to Forbes Magazine, the City of Oaks ranks second in the country when it comes to per capita job postings.
In Raleigh's case, Forbes reports 88 advertised jobs per 1,000 people. San Jose came in first, with 123 jobs per 1,000 people.
"I would say that sounds low," said Fai Vitali, Managing Director with Raleigh job placement firm Manpower. "I think there is definitely more job opportunity out there."
Manpower puts out a quarterly report in which it asks a few dozen companies in the area a fairly simple question: do they plan to add jobs, cut jobs, or maintain in the following year. The last time they asked that question, 22-percent of the companies queried said they do plan to add employees next year. Last year, 12-percent reported the same thing.
"With the number of companies who have moved here and the number of companies who are continuing to hire, we see a very bright outlook," Vitali said.
Forbes offers a number of reasons it consistently puts Raleigh at the top of the pack: business costs (18-percent below the national average), lower regulatory hurdles, a rush of new people coming in (the sixth largest net migration rate in the country), the quality of local colleges, the opportunities offered by Research Triangle Park, and a high percentage of adults with college degrees.
Vitali acknowledges that conditions are always sweeter for people with college degrees or specific skill sets and she says information technology (IT) is the hottest sector to find jobs right now.
"You have a lot of companies who didn't spend a lot of money on [technology] for many years due to what happened in the financial crisis and who now are in the position where their technology is very old and it needs to be upgraded. You need people to do that. You need smart people to do that."
Vitali sees growth in the tech sector largely driven by the large players. "Companies that are name brand," said Vitali, "such as Cisco systems, they're planning to hire significant amounts of people; both full time and contract capacity. The reason is they've got strategic initiatives to grow their business and can find great talent in this marketplace."
But what about people who don't have the degrees or pedigrees that help so much in finding work? Vitali offers this advice: "Make sure you use every resource you have available to you. Use the internet at the various employment security agencies. Understand the companies that you're applying to. Know what they do from a business perspective and for the position you're applying for. Really find out what you're good at and why you're a good fit for this."
