No. 4 Strongest Job Market: El Paso, Tex.

Who's hiring: Transportation & utilities, Information, Professional & business services

Percent companies planning to hire in Q3: 21 percent
Population: 751,296 (+1.7 percent YOY)
Unemployment rate: 9.3 percent
Mean annual income: $34,050

The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank says the recession appears to be over in El Paso, a trade hub that borders Mexico. The expansion of Fort Bliss in northeast El Paso helped sustain the economy, and the city expects the fort to contribute a total of 2,000 new engineering, technical, and industrial jobs by 2013. Another source of employment: Manufacturing activity by tech manufacturer Foxconn, which began operating in nearby Juárez, Mexico, in March 2009, is expected to increase the flow of manufactured goods through the area.