No. 5 Strongest Job Market: Raleigh-Cary, N.C.

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No. 5 Strongest Job Market: Raleigh-Cary, N.C.

Who's hiring:Transportation & utilities, Information, Finance

Percent companies planning to hire in Q3: 19 percent
Population: 1,125,827 (+3.2 percent YOY)
Unemployment rate: 8.2 percent
Mean annual income: $43,370

Businesses in the Raleigh-Cary area expect to hire at a healthy pace during the third quarter of 2010, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. One sector with rebounding employment is IT: A report by staffing firm TEK Systems found the number of IT job openings in Raleigh-Cary in April was up 6 percent from a year earlier. The area is part of North Carolina's Research Triangle, which includes North Carolina State University, Duke University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Major employers include North Carolina State University, WakeMed Health & Hospitals, and Rex Healthcare, according to Raleigh's Economic Development Program.

(This slide has been updated.)