25 Boom States

...And 25 that won't come back, economically, anytime soon. With the unemployment rate holding at 9.7 percent today, The Daily Beast ranks the job growth prospects for every state in America. Where does yours fall?

Although the House passed a $15 billion bill designed to stimulate employment yesterday, the effect won’t be felt for months. Unemployment numbers reported Friday showed the jobless rate remained at 9.7 percent. Little surprise, then, that a poll last month from The Pew Center found 81 percent of Americans found that jobs were a top priority, versus 57 percent for health care.

All of which begs the question on our collective tongue: where are the jobs right now? Which states offer the best chance for hungry workers to find work, or content employees to stay employed? And which are the worst?

For this analysis we first took into account 2006-2016 employment projections prepared by each state’s labor department, and updated it using national employment projections through 2018, which better reflected post-meltdown realities. While these long-term forecasts incorporate trends that transcend the current situation, in order to check any enthusiastic pre-crash numbers, we also equally weighed the actual change in employment from 2006-2009 for each state, and the current unemployment rate.

We’ve also included the median individual salary for each state, courtesy of the American Community Survey, and growth industries, according to the US Census Bureau’s Local Employment Dynamics. For a state to perform well in these rankings, they need to reflect a high projected employment growth rate, show real employment growth over the past three years, and boast low current unemployment rates. And the jobs just might be in a state you least expect.

#1, Wyoming

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 4.1% Current unemployment: 6.4% Employment growth through 2018: 21.5% Median individual salary: $26,496 Hot industry: Outpatient health care

Recent Job Listing: Clinical Manager, Amedisys Home Health. Description: Supervising home nursing care while demonstrating fiscal responsibility and maintaining the highest standards of care and ensuring compliance with all policies, procedures and regulatory requirements. Salary: N/A

#2, Colorado

Jobs gained 2006-2009: .4% Current unemployment: 7.7% Employment growth through 2018: 22.4% Median individual salary: $29,275 Hot industry: Air transportation

Recent Job Listing: Corporate SEC Accounting Director, DISH Network. Description: Putting together accurate financial reporting and timely filing of all SEC reports. Salary: N/A

#3, Louisiana

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 1.6% Current unemployment: 6.8% Employment growth through 2018: 17.1% Median individual salary: $21,499 Hot industry: Mining support

Recent Job Listing: Mechanical System Engineer, Entergy. Description: Providing technical leadership for nuclear power plant through optimization and reliability of mechanical systems and equipment as well as providing technical assistance for operations and maintenance departments. Estimated Salary: $65,000

#4, Texas

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 1.0% Current unemployment: 7.6% Employment growth through 2018: 21.2% Median individual salary: $24,637 Hot industry: Sporting goods, hobby, book and music retail

Recent Job Listing: Geologist, Marathon Oil. Description: Working with team members in the domestic and international Business Units, application vendors, and IT to facilitate the use of a suite of technical applications as required. Estimated Salary: $95,000

#5, New Hampshire

Jobs gained 2006-2009: .03% Current unemployment: 6.3% Employment growth through 2018: 13.6% Median individual salary: $30,302 Hot industry: Computer software engineering

Recent Job Listing: Director of Sales and Marketing (E-Commerce), PC Connection. Description: Responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s overall web strategy that will ultimately deliver profitable sales growth of the company’s various web sites. Estimated Salary: N/A

#6, Virginia

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 2.9% Current unemployment: 6.7% Employment growth through 2018: 15.3% Median individual salary: $30,032 Hot industry: Restaurants and bars

Recent Job Listing: Programmer, General Dynamics Information Technology. Description: Providing information technology, systems engineering and professional services to customers in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, federal civil and commercial sectors. Estimated Salary: N/A

One part of the picture Job growth by state, 2006-2018

#7, Maryland

Jobs gained 2006-2009: .7% Current unemployment: 7.0% Employment growth through 2018: 13.8% Median individual salary: $34,066 Hot industry: Nursing and residential services

Recent Job Listing: Senior Software Engineer, Lockheed Martin. Description: Coordinating with other teams in analyzing business requirement, clarifying user requirements, evaluating alternative solutions, developing framework code and writing test cases and documentation. Estimated Salary: $85,000

#8, Idaho

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 2.9% Current unemployment: 8.0% Employment growth through 2018: 19.9% Median individual salary: $23,479 Hot industry: Nursing and residential services

Recent Job Listing: Treasury Analyst, Micron Technology. Description: Developing, managing and executing foreign exchange risk management program policies and strategies., as well as managing foreign exchange exposures, develop hedge strategies, and report performance. Estimated Salary: N/A

#9, Alaska

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 5.7% Current unemployment: 8.0% Employment growth through 2018: 13.7% Median individual salary: $28,571 Hot industry: Professional, Scientific and Technical services

Recent Job Listing: Field Superintendant, Parker Drilling Company. Description:Coordinating and directing various and multiple activities of the drilling operation, as well as taking morning and evening reports of construction work. Estimated Salary: N/A

#10, Kansas

Jobs gained 2006-2009: .4% Current unemployment: 6.7% Employment growth through 2018: 12.1% Median individual salary: $25,662 Hot industry: Food and beverage retail

Recent Job Listing: Pricing Manager, YRC Worldwide. Description: Developing customer-specific pricing information by analyzing customer shipping requirements, historical data, and yield and profit objectives. Estimated Salary: $67,000

#11, New Mexico

Jobs gained 2006-2009: .1% Current unemployment: 7.2% Employment growth through 2018: 13.7% Median individual salary: $22,040 Hot industry: Hospital patient care and services

Recent Job Listing: Senior Safety Consultant, PNM Resources. Description: Directing the safety and reporting company compliance to safety and health regulatory agencies when required. Estimated Salary: N/A

#12, Utah

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 9.6% Current unemployment: 6.6% Employment growth through 2018: 27.8% Median individual salary: $24,602 Hot industry: Nursing and residential services

Recent Job Listing: Data Analyst, Plan Source. Description: Configuring and supporting multiple electronic data interfaces for PlanSource clients and maintaining relationships with carrier contacts. Estimated Salary: N/A

#13, Oklahoma

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 1.6% Current unemployment: 6.4% Employment growth through 2018: 10.1% Median individual salary: $22,364 Hot industry: Credit lending

Recent Job Listing: Geophysical Technician, Chesapeake Energy. Description: Providing geophysical support for various geologic regions by loading seismic and other data into interpretation software systems used within the company. Estimated Salary: N/A

#14, South Dakota

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 8.7% Current unemployment: 4.8% Employment growth through 2018: 15.5% Median individual salary: $23,838 Hot industry: Professional, Scientific, and Technical services

Recent Job Listing: Commercial Sales, GCR Tire Centers. Description: Maintaining an acceptable gross profit on all sales to ensure maximum store profits, and taking responsibility for all sales and service activities as they relate to servicing the customer while developing and maintaining GCR Tire Centers’ image and corporate philosophy in the community. Estimated Salary: N/A

#15, Montana

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 10.6% Current unemployment: 6.2% Employment growth through 2018: 18.4% Median individual salary: $21,963 Hot industry: Outpatient health care

Recent Job Listing: Administrator, ACS Xerox Company. Description: Developing, updating and maintaining on-line reference files, including fee schedule, RBRVS, provider rate and charge updates, and medical criteria files and parameters. Estimated Salary: N/A

#16, Arizona

Jobs gained 2006-2009: .9% Current unemployment: 9.1% Employment growth through 2018: 14.9% Median individual salary: $26,321 Hot industry: Nursing and residential services

Recent Job Listing: Senior Analyst, US Airways. Description: Providing in-depth financial analysis of supply chain issues and supporting other departments that deal with company development and strategy. Estimated Salary: $60,000

#17, Arkansas

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 6.3% Current unemployment: 7.3% Employment growth through 2018: 14.8% Median individual salary: $20,666 Hot industry: Social assistance

Recent Job Listing: Pharmacy Manager, Wal-Mart. Description: Ensuring that the company’s pharmacies follow Federal and State laws and regulations in all drug policies and prescription-related issues. Estimated Salary: $118,000

#18, Washington

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 1.8% Current unemployment: 8.9% Employment growth through 2018: 14.5% Median individual salary: $29,120 Hot industry: Crop production

Recent Job Listing: Designer, Software and Video Games, Amazon.com. Description: Exhibit an uncanny sense for creating elegant user-centered designs, demonstrated ability to balance high-level, holistic reasoning with detail-oriented feature design, and facility designing for both the online and mobile channels. Estimated Salary: N/A

#19, Georgia

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 1.5% Current unemployment: 9.6% Employment growth through 2018: 13.9% Median individual salary: $25,960 Hot industry: Air transportation

Recent Job Listing: Senior Account Executive, United Parcel Service. Description: Developing complex sales strategies that encompass the customers entire supply chain, identifying subsidiary opportunities and developing multi-level customer relationships to uncover supply chain needs of key decision makers including Presidents, CEO, CFO, COO, Vice-Presidents, Logistic Managers and General Mangers. Estimated Salary: $54,000

#20, Florida

Jobs gained 2006-2009: 4.3% Current unemployment: 10.5% Employment growth through 2018: 16.8% Median individual salary: $25,391 Hot industry: Food and beverage retail

Recent Job Listing: Senior Developer, Tech Data Corporation. Description: Analyzing business requirements across multiple business areas, including the evaluation of application software packages, devising procedures to solve business problems and leading small projects to ensure business application systems are developed in a way that complies with architectural standards and established methodologies and practices. Estimated Salary: $82,500

#21, Nebraska

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 12.1% Current unemployment: 4.6% Employment growth through 2018: 13.7% Median individual salary: $25,268 Hot industry: Social assistance

Recent Job Listing: Associate Food Scientist, ConAgra Foods. Description: Researching, conducting experiments, gathering data, developing preliminary findings and preparing written reports for the development of new products beginning at conception through successful commercialization. Estimated Salary: N/A

#22, Oregon

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: .3% Current unemployment: 11.1% Employment growth through 2018: 13.8% Median individual salary: $25,340 Hot industry: Nursing and residential services

Recent Job Listing: Digital Graphic Designer, Nike. Description: Overseeing the design, layout, and implementation of creative for digital media for Nike Global Communications, including the company's Intranet, internal partners, and executional elements of PR plans, with a focus on online and social media. Estimated Salary: $50,000

#23, Iowa

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 9.6% Current unemployment: 6% Employment growth through 2018: 10.6% Median individual salary: $25,296 Hot industry: Credit lending

Recent Job Listing: Senior Systems Engineer, Rockwell Collins. Description: Designing, testing and supporting state-of-the-art navigation and requires experience with numerical method and signal processing. Estimated Salary: $82,000

#24, Connecticut

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 3.1% Current unemployment: 8.2% Employment growth through 2018: 8.0% Median individual salary: $32,356 Hot industry: Nursing and residential services

Recent Job Listing: Advanced Concepts Engineer, United Technologies. Description: Assisting with future aircraft development, incorporating advanced technologies into innovative, customer-focused aircraft concepts, and developing aircraft configuration layouts. Estimated Salary: $90,000

#25, North Carolina

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 6.6% Current unemployment: 10.6% Employment growth through 2018: 15.4% Median individual salary: $24,309 Hot industry: General retail

Recent Job Listing: Change Management Executive, Bank of America. Description: Overseeing and delivering projects on schedule, managing a team of change managers and business analysts, managing tollgate process and managing communications to executive sponsors. Estimated Salary: $80,000

#26, Minnesota

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 7.8% Current unemployment: 8.0% Employment growth through 2018: 9.6% Median individual salary: $29,595 Hot industry: Utilities

Recent Job Listing: Relationship Marketing Manager, General Mills. Description: Advancing the company’s relationship marketing efforts and developing, evangelizing and deploying a relationship marketing model that unlocks incremental growth across our portfolio of brands. Estimated Salary: $120,000

#27, North Dakota

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 14.8% Current unemployment: 4.3% Employment growth through 2018: 8.2% Median individual salary: $23,904 Hot industry: Nursing and residential services

Recent Job Listing: HR Analyst, Eide Bailly LLP. Description: Supporting the Human Resources Management System by ensuring data integrity, testing system changes, writing reports and analyzing data for process improvement opportunities as well as serving as the technical point-of-contact. Estimated Salary: $36,000

#28, California

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 5.9% Current unemployment: 11.4% Employment growth through 2018: 14.4% Median individual salary: $27,254 Hot industry: Hospital patient care and services

Recent Job Listing: Application Developer, Disney. Description: Defining, creating and supporting business application software for the Disney ABC Television Group. Responsibilities also include gathering requirements, performing analysis, coding and testing client/server and browser-based applications. Estimated Salary: $87,000

#29, West Virginia

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 6.4% Current unemployment: 7.9% Employment growth through 2018: 6.2% Median individual salary: $20,512 Hot industry: Mining (except oil and gas)

Recent Job Listing: Dietician, Greenbrier Valley Medical Center. Description: Developing and maintaining nutritional care to the hospitalized patients, as well as to the outpatient population according to the physicians' diagnosis. Estimated Salary: N/A

#30, Maine

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 4.4% Current unemployment: 8.0% Employment growth through 2018: 4.7% Median individual salary: $23,718 Hot industry: Nursing and residential services

Recent Job Listing: Product Merchant—Men’s Apparel, L.L. Bean. Description: Working in conjunction with the Design team to develop products that offer superior function, value and aesthetics, as well as ensuring that key aspects of products are clearly communicated, merchandising cycle timelines are met, and relevant gross margin and price targets are achieved. Estimated Salary: $52,000

#31, Mississippi

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 13.3% Current unemployment: 9.6% Employment growth through 2018: 15.8% Median individual salary: $19,704 Hot industry: Goods and cargo transportation, truck

Recent Job Listing: Division Materials Specialist, Mississippi Power Company. Description: Providing local control and support of Division warehousing and distribution of material for tier II and tier III stores facilities, and ensuring that each facility is optimized and material is available for internal and external customers. Estimated Salary: N/A

#32, Illinois

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 6.5% Current unemployment: 10.1% Employment growth through 2018: 11.4% Median individual salary: $27,402 Hot industry: Educational services

Recent Job Listing: Category Insights Manager, Kraft Foods. Description: Leading fact-based analysis to provide guidance in the development and continuous improvement of marketing and sales strategies as well as business plans that increase profitable growth and return on spending investments. Estimated Salary: N/A

#33, New York

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 4.6% Current unemployment: 8.4% Employment growth through 2018: 5.9% Median individual salary: $27,424 Hot industry: Motion picture and sound recording

Recent Job Listing: Risk Reporting Analyst, Morgan Stanley. Description: Supporting the development of a portfolio of Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for technology, including measures of inherent risk, effectiveness of controls, compliance with policy, achievement of strategy, and actual incidents. Estimated Salary: $55,000 to $80,000.

#34, South Carolina

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 3.0% Current unemployment: 11.7% Employment growth through 2018: 10.7% Median individual salary: $23,158 Hot industry: Hospital patient care and services

Recent Job Listing: Account Analyst, ScanSource. Description: The administration of ScanSource accounts and communicating with customers to resolve past due invoices via payment. Estimated Salary: N/A

#35, Nevada

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 10.8% Current unemployment: 11.8% Employment growth through 2018: 33.3% Median individual salary: $29,573 Hot industry: Outpatient health care

Recent Job Listing: Convention Sales Director, Harrah’s Entertainment. Description: Overseeing the sales of seven facilities, which consist of over 800,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. Other responsibilities include finalizing contracts with clients and traveling to promote the company’s facilities. Estimated Salary: N/A

#36, Pennsylvania

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 4.7% Current unemployment: 8.1% Employment growth through 2018: 5.2% Median individual salary: $25,220 Hot industry: Outpatient health care

Recent Job Listing: Direct Sales Representative, Comcast. Description: Winning back former customers by direct contact, including conducting door-to-door canvas and appointments in assigned territory. Estimated Salary: N/A

#37, Alabama

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 12.4% Current unemployment: 10.1% Employment growth through 2018: 14.4% Median individual salary: $21,842 Hot industry: Telecommunications

Recent Job Listing: Executive Assistant—Treasury Management, Regions Financial. Description: Providing administrative support for the Executive Vice President of Regions' Treasury Management Division, with duties including coordinating calendars, travel arrangements, multi-line phone and projects as assigned. Estimated Salary: N/A

#38, Kentucky

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 6.0% Current unemployment: 10.5% Employment growth through 2018: 9.6% Median individual salary: $21,818 Hot industry: Mining (except oil and gas)

Recent Job Listing: Case Manager, RN, Humana Description: Working with Medicare members to assess care needs through assessment(s), developing short-term case management care plans goals and referring to specific disease management programs and other health improvement related programs. Estimated Salary: $62,000

#39, Rhode Island

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 3.8% Current unemployment: 11.2% Employment growth through 2018: 8.8% Median individual salary: $26,774 Hot industry: Educational services

Recent Job Listing: Senior Product Engineer, Hasbro. Description: Engineering development of preschool or infant products for assigned product lines ensuring quality, cost and schedule adherence. Estimated Salary: N/A

#40, Hawaii

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 13.4% Current unemployment: 6.8% Employment growth through 2018: 6.8% Median individual salary: $30,071 Hot industry: Social assistance

Recent Job Listing: Senior Engineer, Hawaiian Electric Industries. Description: Providing OEM-expert level field engineering and technical consulting services to the stations for identifying, troubleshooting, and resolving operational problems; optimizing maintenance and operational practices to enhance equipment performance, reliability, and life; and ensuring compliance with all applicable codes and regulations. Estimated Salary: N/A

#41, Delaware

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 12.4% Current unemployment: 8.1% Employment growth through 2018: 9.9% Median individual salary: $29,307 Hot industry: Hospital patient care and services

Recent Job Listing: Advanced Practice Nurse, DuPont. Description: Planning, implementing and evaluating therapy required by patients Estimated Salary: N/A

#42, New Jersey

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 6.1% Current unemployment: 9.2% Employment growth through 2018: 5.8% Median individual salary: $32,684 Hot industry: Amusement, Gambling and Recreation

Recent Job Listing: Director of Health Economics and Reimbursement, Johnson & Johnson. Description: Identifying research topics of interest to decision-making stakeholders and helping to channel evidence generation activities to the respective business units with the potential to help develop research proposals and study design. Estimated Salary: N/A

#43, Wisconsin

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 8.4% Current unemployment: 8.5% Employment growth through 2018: 7.8% Median individual salary: $26,724 Hot industry: Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, and Professional Organizations

Recent Job Listing: Financial Security Specialist, Northwestern Mutual. Description: Serving as a field support specialist for the needs analysis and financial security planning process and tools as well as consulting with a Network Office to support the financial planning process and tools to help them achieve their Network Office plan for growth. Estimated Salary: N/A

#44, Vermont

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 10.7% Current unemployment: 6.9% Employment growth through 2018: 5.5% Median individual salary: $25,727 Hot industry: Social assistance

Recent Job Listing: Corporate Training Director, National Life Group. Description: Collaboratively working with all members of the organization to develop, implement, facilitate and evaluate organization-wide learning opportunities. The primary focus of this position is manager and employee competency development and training. Estimated Salary: N/A

#45, District of Columbia

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 6.6% Current unemployment: 10.2% Employment growth through 2018: 8.3% Median individual salary: $33,571 Hot industry: Postsecondary education

Recent Job Listing: Senior Project Manager, Fannie Mae. Description: Managing daily team activities, monitoring project progress and delivering status reports in areas that include metrics, staffing statistics, resource tracking, SOX compliance, unit progress, issue tracking, and staff meetings. Estimated Salary: $128,000, including bonus.

#46, Massachusetts

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 7.9% Current unemployment: 8.4% Employment growth through 2018: 6.0% Median individual salary: $30,800 Hot industry: Nursing and residential services

Recent Job Listing: Consulting Cost Accountant, Raytheon. Description:Providing support and liaison activities to the corporate DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency) and DCMA (Defense Contract Management Agency) concerning various audits, negotiations of incurred cost submissions, advance agreements and other inquiries made by these and other agencies. Estimated Salary: N/A

#47, Tennessee

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 10.1% Current unemployment: 10.5% Employment growth through 2018: 12.1% Median individual salary: $22,785 Hot industry: Outpatient health care

Recent Job Listing: Perf & Plng Analyst, FedEx. Description:Developing computerized decision support systems and business analysis models for projects requiring sophisticated state of the art computer and statistical techniques. Estimated Salary: N/A

#48, Indiana

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 7.2% Current unemployment: 10.1% Employment growth through 2018: 7.5% Median individual salary: $25,451 Hot industry: Heavy and Civil Engineering construction

Recent Job Listing: Group Leader in Functional Genomics/Cell Biology, Eli Lilly. Description:Working on portfolio projects and forging partnerships with Drug Hunting Teams, Toxicology and Translational Medicine scientists to understand barriers to drug discovery and development and design/implement a scientific direction for the group to address the same. Estimated Salary: $93,000

#49, Missouri

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 6.8% Current unemployment: 9.3% Employment growth through 2018: 5.6% Median individual salary: : $24,278 Hot industry: Hospital patient care and services

Recent Job Listing: Project Manager, Express Scripts. Description: Designing the strategy for network implementations and ensuring that appropriate policies and procedures are in place to continue to support and maintain any business requirements. Estimated Salary: $80,000

#50, Ohio

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 8.3% Current unemployment: 10.2% Employment growth through 2018: 4.7% Median individual salary: : $25,133 Hot industry: Educational services

Recent Job Listing: Corporate Counsel—Employee Benefits, Procter & Gamble. Description: Ensuring compliance with relevant laws related to benefit programs (e.g., ERISA, IRC, HIPAA and state laws), including record-keeping, reporting and disclosure requirements. Estimated Salary: N/A

#51, Michigan

Jobs gained 2006-2009:: 10.5% Current unemployment: 13.6% Employment growth through 2018: 6.4% Median individual salary:: $25,215 Hot industry: Insurance

Recent Job Listing: Research Engineer, Ford Motor. Description: Developing multiple sensing hardware and methods and intelligent algorithms for generating and navigating within a 3D world map. Estimated Salary: $90,000

Clark Merrefield researched these rankings, with assistance from Tali Yahalom