Difficulty Finding a Job Varies Widely Among US States

One of many factors that may be hindering jobs recovery in the current economy is diminished mobility. The real estate market situation, as well as difficulties posed by relocating multi-earner households, have likely made many more reluctant to consider a major cross-country move than in the past.
Yet, employment data suggest that those who can consider such a move might do well to do so, as there is a significant disparity in the level of employment opportunities between different states and regions. Fishing in a bigger pond in another state might make all the difference in a tough job search!

The US States Job Search Difficulty Index

This index measures the difficulty of finding employment in each state around the country (and D.C.). It is expressed in terms of unemployed individuals per advertised job. This figure ranges from a low of 0.82 in D.C. to a high of 8.24 in Michigan.

This measure was calculated by dividing the number of unemployed workers in each state, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), by the number of jobs in the Juju.com comprehensive index of millions of online jobs in the United States, which is compiled and updated continuously from thousands of employer career portals, recruiter websites, and job boards all over the Internet.