These Cities Have the Hottest Job Prospects Early in 2015

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If you’re planning on searching for a job in the next few months, you might want to try looking in sunny Cape Coral, Fla.

That’s according to a new Employment Outlook Survey from ManpowerGroup, which asked 18,000 employers in 100 metropolitan statistical areas about their hiring prospects for the first quarter of 2015, compared with the fourth quarter of 2014.

The survey revealed that nearly a third of businesses (32 percent) in the Cape Coral MSA plan to hire new workers, pushing the city to the survey’s top spot when it comes to hiring outlook.

According to Forbes, Cape Coral economic development director Dana Burnett said the area has lots of construction jobs as the region recovers from the subprime mortgage crisis.

“We got hit hard and we’re still waking up from that,” Burnett told Forbes.

Also, retailers are hiring, and Hertz, which recently moved its headquarters to the area, is looking for new employees.

ManpowerGroup said other cities with strong hiring outlooks are:

  • McAllen, Texas – 29 percent net employment outlook.
  • Deltona, Fla. – 26 percent.
  • Grand Rapids, Mich. – 26 percent.
  • Milwaukee – 24 percent.
  • Oxnard, Calif. – 24 percent.

The cities with the weakest net employment outlook are:

  • Spokane, Wash. – 2 percent.
  • Portland, Ore. – 3 percent.
  • Syracuse, N.Y. – 6 percent.
  • Rochester, N.Y. – 6 percent.
  • Indianapolis – 6 percent.

Overall, the job market is doing well. According to Money, one-fifth of the employers surveyed by ManpowerGroup said they expected to hire additional employees in the first quarter of the year. Just 6 percent anticipated workforce cuts.

What do you think of the cities that showed up as the best (and worst) for job prospects next year? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.

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