Career Guide 2005
A brightening labor market could make this the time to look for a new job
Breathe easy, workers: The jobless recovery is indisputably over. Some 262,000 new jobs were created last month, with almost every sector of the economy contributing, including manufacturing. That's icing on the cake after January, when the U.S. labor market at long last recouped all of its losses from the 2001 recession. There are now about 300,000 more people working than in February 2001, the pre-recession peak.
Throw in the recent drop in jobless claims and a spike in help-wanted ads, and this very well may be a good time to remind your current employer of your value, consider a new job, or refresh that search for one if you're out of work and have been discouraged about hiring prospects. "All of these forward indicators of labor-market activity are pointing in the same direction: a more robust labor market this spring than we've seen in 12 to 18 months," says Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board.
But this job market differs from those of the past. The biggest gains in jobs are occurring south and west, with workers following the sun in pursuit of careers and employers chasing favorable regulatory and tax environments. Manufacturing, meanwhile, continues its long-term employment decline. The mobility of work that depends less on the availability of natural resources and more on human and computer brainpower is intensifying the shift of payrolls away from the Northeast and Midwest (story, Page 42).
Nowhere is the job boom stronger than in Florida. The Sunshine State generated 291,000 new positions in 2003 and 2004; that's 11 times the average of all states.
That might explain Tanya Cauren's move in January from Bloomingdale, Ill., to Fort Myers. The 44-year-old left her job as director of technical design at Sears, Roebuck to take a similar position and six-figure salary at Chico's. She leads a team of 13 creating the specifications for clothes sold at the apparel chain's White House/Black Market stores. "I took the job because Chico's is in a growth mode," says Cauren.
Founded on nearby Sanibel Island in 1983, the company recently passed $1 billion in annual revenue and is planning a third move in the Fort Myers area to accommodate a bulging staff that will grow by about 150 at its headquarters this year. The jobs range from the company's call center to information technology and product development positions to executive-level spots. Salaries start at around $30,000 and exceed $100,000, says Chico's CEO Scott Edmonds, who has had to look far afield to find the right employees. "If you're going to get a merchant, a marketing person, or a store operations executive, you're going to have to go out of this area." He relies on the local amenities to lure them. "I can tell you exactly what time the sun sets above the Sanibel causeway."
The weather was a minor factor in Cauren's decision to move, but her golden years figured prominently. "I'm building a house with all the bells and whistles because I'm retiring here."
An influx of pre-retirement baby boomers like Cauren, as well as current retirees, immigrants, and others, is driving the economies of Florida, Nevada, and Arizona. According to a study by the Milken Institute, an economic think tank in Santa Monica, Calif., seven of the top 20 job-creating metropolitan areas in 2004 were in Florida. Four were in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Other high-ranking metro areas include Boise, Idaho (story, Page 40), and Fayetteville, Ark., which have been helped by strong entrepreneurial activity and proximity to research universities. A few large metropolitan areas also did well in the ranking, including the Phoenix-Mesa and Washington, D.C., areas, where government spending, especially on defense and homeland security, has sparked a job boom.
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