New clients often ask me why recruiting great people in Washington DC remains stubbornly difficult. One of my favorite job aggregator sites – Indeed - explains why in a very simple graphic that compares unemployed people relative to job postings. (9/15/09 Note: Indeed updated this chart recently).
Washington and Baltimore have 1 job posting for every unemployed person. This is the best performance of any major city listed. Other cities, like New York have a ratio of 2 unemployed people for every job posting. But poor Detroit comes in last with eighteen unemployed people for every job posting.
The graphic illustrates that recruiting is essentially a local business. Hiring difficulty varies widely from city to city.
By the way, it’s also a good reminder, that if you want to hire better people (at least in Washington), you have to write a better job ad. Something I have been ranting talking about for quite some time.
Ummm, apparently, since this was posted Indeed altered the numbers for DC. This is their comment in small print:
(Data for Washington DC and Jacksonville FL adjusted due to methodological changes.)