If there’s one concept that underlies, well, pretty much the entire world of economics, it’s supply and demand. When there’s less of something, it makes it more valuable. When there’s more, the reverse is true. That core concept ripples out across the entire financial system in many ways, including labor markets. When you’re living somewhere where there’s way more need for a certain profession than there are professionals ready to do the job, that can mean they’ll offer more money and benefits to attract the best talent. And if you’re in a profession that’s underrepresented all over the country, well, that’s a very advantageous position to be in, indeed.
As such, keeping a close eye on how your area’s job market looks can be a crucial part of your happiness. At the end of the day, being able to make more, just by virtue of having a lot of people in need of your services, can dramatically improve your quality of life. That’s why GOBankingRates is drawing on data from career site Monster to give a clear view of which professions are currently the most in demand in each state.
The bad news? There isn’t a lot of diversity among the results; you’ll find that a handful of positions tend to be near the top virtually wherever you live. In particular, many states have a high demand for registered nurses, truck drivers and retail salespeople. However, some states do manage to buck the trend with jobs more specific to their local economies.
So, take a look at the top jobs in each state to get a clear sense of how the job markets vary by region.
