With the national unemployment rate at 9%, it’s helpful to know where the jobs will be in the in the future.  Here are the top 5 states for landing a job in the next 5 years:

1.    Texas
The current unemployment rate in Texas is 8.5%; however annual job growth is expected to be 2.9% for the next 5 years.  That means in 2015, Texas will have 1.6 million new jobs.

2.    Nevada
Although unemployment is quite high at the moment (13.4% due to the recent housing market collapse), experts forecast 5-year an annual job growth of 2.9% as well.  Nevada has lower business costs compared to California, and economists believe businesses will take advantage of these in the next 5 years.

3.    Arizona
Similar to Nevada, Arizona has a 13.4% unemployment rate, but anticipates 2.8% job growth.  Arizona offers both land and proximity to Mexico.  

4.    New Mexico
New Mexico’s unemployment rate is currently well below average at 6.6%, and jobs are expected to growth by 2.6%!

5.    North Dakota
Finally, North Dakota’s low 3.5% unemployment rate is rather impressive—and it also anticipates 2.6% annual job growth in the next 5 years!