In our rough economy, it’s hard to find a city that offers a thriving job market. However, if you’re looking to advance your career, Phoenix, AZ might be your answer. Recently, the employment firm Manpower conducted a survey of cities in the United States with the best job opportunities, and they found that the Phoenix metro area ranked fourth in the entire nation. In addition, Forbes Magazine also ranked Phoenix fourth in the country in terms of employment outlook, which is the number of expected hires after being offset by the number of expected layoffs. In this survey, Phoenix showed a 12% employment outlook for 2011. Although there’s no doubt the economy is struggling, there are plenty of great companies that are now hiring in Phoenix, AZ.

While the fields of industry that are growing in Phoenix are varied, there are certain areas where job growth is very strong. Theresa Maher, an employment expert with Jobing.com, said that we can expect to see the greatest growth in the areas of education, healthcare, business and professional services, utilities, transportation and trades. It’s certainly a broad list, and for that reason, Phoenix remains attractive to job-seekers from all sectors.

Companies both large and small are now hiring in Phoenix, including Go Daddy, Avnet Inc., Grand Canyon University, and Verizon Wireless. In some cases, the struggling economy is actually adding certain jobs. Grand Canyon University claims that it added over 700 jobs last year thanks in large part to record numbers of enrollments. They say that unemployed and underemployed adults are returning to school to learn competitive skills, and that this has contributed greatly to their recent growth. The health care industry remains a growing field as well, with institutions like the Mayo Clinic Hospital, Cancer Treatment Centers of America and Barrow Neurological Institute all reporting increased staffing needs. In 2010, The Arizona Republic found that Phoenix leads the nation in health-care job growth, outpacing every other metro area.