America's best jobs in the hottest markets

The great American hiring boom is slowing down--but as labor cools with the rest of the economy, a few choice regions will stay red-hot. You just have to know where to look.

Powerhouse chipmakers like Samsung are expanding in Austin, as are many tech startups.
9. AUSTIN, TX
2-year job-growth forecast: 4.9%

Metropolitan-area population: 1.5 million

Who's hiring now: Deloitte & Touche, Hyatt Hotels, Samsung, University of Texas at Austin

Hottest jobs Senior software engineer ($97,800), senior electronics design engineer ($97,500), senior software developer ($92,700), computer hardware engineer ($83,600), semiconductor process engineer ($81,600)

Like other U.S. high-tech hubs, Austin was hit hard in the tech bust and was slow to start growing again. But grown it has: The region's employment level now exceeds its dotcom-era high.

Austin's rep has largely rested on its dual status as the headquarters of Dell and a place where chipmakers cluster. But more and more startups are gaining footholds here too. New patents issued to Austin firms rose by 20 percent in the past year, while venture capital investment jumped by 50 percent. At the same time, the old standbys are adding muscle to the labor market: Dell and the University of Texas, the area's largest public-sector employer, are in hiring mode, and Samsung's upcoming chip plant will ultimately create 800 new openings. Another plus: The housing market isn't suffering as much locally as in most other parts of the country.
Sources: Conference Board, Global Insight, Moody's Economy.com, PayScale, and Radford Surveys & Consulting.

Orlando

Las Vegas

Raleigh

Charlotte

Phoenix

West Palm Beach

Tampa

Riverside

Austin

Atlanta

Salt Lake City

Jacksonville

Dallas

San Antonio

Ft. Lauderdale
Where the jobs are See our interactive map to find out where Help Wanted signs abound--and which positions are in the highest demand. (more)
The hottest salaries Here are popular job categories in which wages are growing the fastest. (more)
The hottest jobs Here are the most in-demand professionals nationwide, and the cities where they're most coveted. (more)

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.