Where should job searchers look for the greatest chance of employment? Big states like California and Texas naturally have the most open jobs, but some smaller states might offer the best opportunities.
If that’s the case, West Virginia and Maine might be at the top of the list.
Those rank No. 1 and No. 2 in job-opening rates among the 50 states, according to a new study by the artificial-intelligence platform Podium AI. Podium AI analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics data to determine the best places to look for work.
The job-opening rate is determined by comparing the number of open jobs against the number of people who are already employed. States with high job-opening rates have greater demand for labor than states with lower rates.
Why does that matter to job seekers?
States with high demand for labor tend to offer better “pay, benefits, and workplace flexibility,” said Eric Rea, CEO of Podium AI.
After all, companies have to compete with each other to attract the limited number of qualified job seekers in their state or region.
Since West Virginia and Maine are largely rural with slow-growing populations, it’s especially hard for businesses in those places to lure prospective employees. Not everyone wants to live in or move to more rural states.
Big states, on the other hand, often have the opposite problem: They have a greater number of job seekers per open job, because they have large populations or because lots of people want to live there.
That’s good news for businesses, but not so much for people looking for work. They have to compete with many more job seekers, limiting the leverage they have when negotiating with a future employer.
“A state like New York or California may have the highest number of openings, but competition will still be fierce because of the size of the workforce,” Rea said. “In smaller states with high rates, workers may find they have more leverage and choice.”
The state with the toughest labor market appears to be Washington, which has the lowest job-opening rate at 3.7%.
California was third from the bottom, even though it has the highest number of overall job openings in the country. The state has around 700,000 job openings, compared with 46,000 for West Virginia and 39,000 for Maine.