Where the Jobs Are

Unemployment is soaring. A job report due this week is expected to say that another 475,000 people were thrown out of work last month, bringing 2008's toll to around 1.7 million.

But all is not bleak. A different report, released today, documents great news for some employees. Those who work in a few select fields -- including health care and accounting -- and who earn a six-figure salary.

There was growth in postings for jobs paying $100,000 or more during the last quarter of 2008 compared with the previous three months, said TheLadders.com, a website for executive job seekers. Health care institutions were recruiting especially in patient care and medical devices and diagnostics.

Other areas with executive job openings were aerospace anddefense, engineering services, and accounting.

"Even in this tumultuous market, companies are still adding to their executive ranks," said Marc Cenedella, founder and chief executive of the five-year-old web site.

Despite the thousands of jobs lost on Wall Street, Cenedella said that "accounting professionals are in demand. The top three companies hiring in New York right now are accounting firms."

The report was based on tracking hiring patterns in 20 major cities, and surveys of job seekers across the country. Some 929 people responded to the survey, which also found that Washington and San Francisco were the geographic areas most favorable for executive job seekers. In the nation's capital -- no doubt due to the federal government, there were only three people vying for every job.

Baltimore, Houston, San Diego, and Seattle followed close behind, with four people for every job opening. In New York and Philadelphia, six people were seeking each job. The toughest areas -- with seven applying for every job -- were Los Angeles, Chicago, and Austin, Texas.

Nearly two-thirds of those looking for work said they were willing to relocate from their current city for a new job. That was up from 55 percent at the same time in 2007.

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