The last year has been an employment nightmare not only for employees but for employers who are desperate to fill vacant job positions.

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At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, in April of 2020, unemployment numbers were steep with 14.7 percent of Americans left not working, an all-time unemployment high. By June of 2021, there were still millions of Americans unemployed (more than six million people) but the unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent.

In a way, the coronavirus pandemic has made people pause and consider both their quality of life and their working situation. More and more people are reconsidering the career they originally decided on and are pivoting toward new, different careers and what this means is more job openings for those who are looking.

SmartAsset looked at data from a variety of sources to identify the areas in the United States with the best career opportunities and impressively, found that New York has four of the top 10 metros for job openings. Those metros are Rochester, Binghamton, Syracuse, and Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls.

That's right, Binghamton made the list not only as being one of the top 10 metros in the country for career opportunities but we rank right alongside much larger metro areas. According to SmartAssett, Binghamton places at number six on the overall list of 25 different metros.

The reason for our high ranking is that Binghamton has the "47th-highest one-year change in total employment (12.34%) and 23rd-lowest median annual housing costs (about $9,900)." Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Binghamton has the "10th-highest concentration of career counselors" as well as the "15th-highest concentration of post-secondary teachers."  In 2020, Binghamton didn't even make the list.

How did other New York metros fare in the study? Rochester placed at number three, Syracuse at number seven, Buffalo at number 10, and Albany (Schenectady/Troy) placed at number 17.

If you're thinking about a career change or need a job, we invite you to the Binghamton Back to Work! Job Fair being held at the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City on Wednesday, August 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. where there will be over 20 businesses on hand who would love to meet you. Learn more about the Binghamton Back to Work! Job Fair here. 

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