Summary
Smaller metro areas in the U.S. are seeing more job growth compared to large cities. These smaller markets are strong in health care and leisure jobs, while big cities like San Francisco and Seattle have fewer job listings, especially in tech.
Key Facts
- Smaller metro areas have more job growth than large cities.
- Job listings in San Francisco dropped by 37% from February 2020 to October.
- Seattle's job listings decreased by 35% in the same period.
- Health care and leisure industries boosted job growth in smaller areas.
- These two sectors made up over 100% of net job gains in 2025 so far.
- A slowdown in white-collar jobs is partly due to hiring freezes and job cuts under the Trump administration.
- Washington, D.C., saw a 24% decrease in job listings, influenced by fewer government contracts.
