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CNN Money’s Fortune has a great columnist, Anne Fisher.  In answering questions, she finds ways to pass along some great tidbits of helpful advice.  Today’s column was a winner.    A reader asked about the pros and cons of moving to find work in a different city.  Her response was good and even-handed, but what caught MY eye were the stats she posted on how many other job seekers you are up against, on average, based upon the city you are in.  Juju, a job-search engine (job aggregrator), did a study based on its own database of jobs and applicants and here is what they found (the number of applicants per opening):

The ten most promising cities for job hunters:

1. Washington, D.C. – 2.0
2. Baltimore – 2.7
3. San Jose – 3.1
4. Salt Lake City – 3.2
5. New York City – 3.4
6. Hartford, Conn. – 3.6
7. Denver – 4.4
8. Boston – 4.5
In a three-way tie for ninth place:
9. San Antonio – 5.0
9. Austin – 5.0
9. Indianapolis – 5.0
10. Pittsburgh – 5.1

The cities with the most applicants per job opening:

40. Orlando – 9.0
41. Memphis – 9.4
42. Birmingham, Ala. – 9.5
Tied for 43rd place:
43. Providence, R.I. – 9.6
43. Portland, Ore. – 9.6
44. Sacramento – 11.2
45. Los Angeles – 11.9
46. Riverside, Calif. – 13.4
47. Las Vegas – 14.4
48. Miami – 15.8
49. St. Louis – 19.9
50. Detroit – 21.6

So, basically, if you live in Washington, DC, or Baltimore….good!  Los Angeles or Detroit (no surprise, with the disasters in the auto industry)? … bad!  I’m not saying to move, but this sure gives you the picture of what the economy is telling us, right?  More info in the article, but certainly an interesting look at where the 10% unemployment is giving jobseekers a real run for jobs.