Tampa Ranks 3rd Nationally in Job Opportunities

The Tampa metropolitan area may have taken a beating during the Great Recession, shedding more than 140,000 jobs, but it’s bounced back rather nicely.

That’s the word from a WalletHub survey ranking the top places in the country to find job opportunities. It ranks Tampa Bay No. 3, just behind Fort Worth, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

The recently released study took into account such factors as employment growth, job openings per capita, unemployment trends and industrial variety. Local cost of living also played a big role.

While WalletHub says Tampa was hit especially hard during the Great Recession, “the area’s economy is nearly back to its pre-recession size.” It says “only 11 major U.S. cities have fewer employees per capita living below the poverty line.”

Tampa’s workforce also ranked 8th best in pay, but there is a caveat to that: cost of living was taken into account.

Back in August 2010, the unemployment rate in Tampa Bay soared to 12.3 percent, according to the Tampa Bay Times. By May 2014, that number had dropped to 5.9 percent, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported.

Other cities in the Top 10 included:

• No. 1 Fort Worth, TX
• No. 2 Washington, D.C.
• No. 4 Arlington, TX
• No. 5 Dallas, TX
• No. 6 Austin, TX
• No. 7 Seattle, WA
• No. 8 Denver, CO
• No. 9 Mesa, AZ
• No. 10 Houston, TX

What are your thoughts? Is Tampa Bay ripe with job opportunities? Tell us by commenting below!