Study: Columbus ranks among top 10 hottest job markets in U.S.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Columbus ranks among the top 10 hottest job markets in the United States, according to a report.
A study by payroll solutions provider ADP identified the nation’s “hottest labor markets” based on data from July 2023 to June 2024. The company analyzed pay growth, starting wages for new hires, and hiring rates, focusing on 55 U.S. metros with populations of at least 1 million.
“Pay gains for U.S. workers have been slowing steadily since the second half of 2022 as the economy works its way to a post-pandemic normal,” the study said. “But pay and hiring dynamics at the metro level can look very different than the national data.”
Columbus ranked as the seventh-hottest hiring market in the country, with numbers stronger than 89% of the metros analyzed. The study found that median annual pay in Columbus grew by 5.2% during the 11-month period. The median pay for new hires was $15.80 an hour, and the monthly hiring rate was 5.4%.
The city’s annual pay growth ranked averagely in the 52nd percentile, and its new hire wage ranked low in the 13th percentile. However, it placed highly, in the 98th percentile, for its hiring rate.
The hottest industries in Columbus according to ADP are trade, transportation and utilities (89th percentile); professional and business services (83rd percentile); and leisure and hospitality (70th percentile).
The Denver metropolitan area had the hottest job market in the country, according to ADP. The city had an annual pay growth of 5.8%, an average new hire pay of $19 an hour, and a monthly hiring rate of 4.5%.
Denver was followed by Oklahoma City; Las Vegas, Nevada; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; Sacramento, California; Columbus, Ohio; Austin, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Nashville, Tennessee.