Cedar Rapids on job opportunity list

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids and Des Moines are ranked in the top 10 metropolitan areas in the nation with the most job opportunities per capita in the third quarter.

Des Moines is listed at No. 4 and Cedar Rapids is ranked No. 5, according to the list compiled by Beyond.com, an online career network that connects job seekers with employers. Iowa City is ranked No. 11 on the list, Sioux City is listed at No. 13 and Waterloo is ranked No. 37.

Transportation and logistics, health care and medical, and information technology are top industries in Cedar Rapids that created jobs in the quarter that ended on Sept. 30. Construction and extraction, transportation and logistics, and health care and medical were cited as job creators in Des Moines in the same period.

Graphic designers, administrative assistants and customer service representatives were the easiest hires in Cedar Rapids, according to Beyond. Add registered nurses to those hires in Des Moines.

Beyond reports Cedar Rapids job postings grew 143 percent from the third quarter of 2013 to the same quarter this year. Des Moines job postings grew 145 percent in the third quarter year over year.

Cedar Rapids has an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, while the jobless rate in Des Moines is 4 percent. Beyond.com reported there are three members of the labor force in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines for every job posted in the third quarter.