In its earliest days the residents relied on farming to sustain the economy. In 1873 when there was an expansion of rail lines westward many of these went through Dallas which contributed greatly to its growth. In the 1900’s it was the largest cotton market in the whole world and also led in the production of cotton machinery. During the 1930’s luck struck again as oil was discovered near the city and this immediately made Dallas the center of the petroleum industry in the U.S even to this day and is the biggest source of Dallas employment.
Companies and Employment in Dallas
In modern times Dallas has the status as a major ‘inland port’ because of the amount of traffic and cargo emanating to and from Fort Worth International Airport, one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. Another big contributor to Dallas employment is information and telecommunications jobs which have laid their foundation since the end of World War II and even to this day remain strong. Dallas is even referred to as the “Heart of Silicon Prairie” due to the high concentration of information and telecommunications companies in and around the city. Most of these companies reside in what is called the “Telecom Corridor”, in the northern part of Dallas which is home to nearly 6,000 companies including some with headquarters in the city like Verizon, Cisco, Rockwell, Nokia, Ericsson, Alcatel, Nortel, AT&T, Fujitsu, Sprint, and Texas Instruments. During the 1980s real estate businesses had a boom in Dallas bringing with it rapid population growth in the metropolitan areas surrounding the city.
Outlook for Dallas careers is excellent with the city becoming an ultra modern and sophisticated city with numerous 4-5 star restaurants and hotels as well as historical places of interest, which attract thousands of worldwide travelers each year making it the top tourist destination in Texas. It has the 3rd busiest airport in the world with nearly 2,000 flights a day. The city is also ranks 3rd as a choice for business meetings and conventions of various interest groups and its Dallas Convention Center is one of the biggest and busiest of its kind. In addition to the large number of businesses Dallas also has the most number of shopping centers and malls giving a better shopping experience than any other city in the U.S.
Among Dallas employment, the most common are administrative, non-farm managers, supervisory, and other office support personnel who count for 6.8 percent of all job categories; followed by building and grounds clearing and maintenance occupations at 5.5 percent; at third are sales and related workers at 4 percent; then by construction workers at about 4 percent also followed by manufacturing and transportation sector workers both at 3 percent. These are just the most common and it shows the diversity of the many employment categories the rest, such as math and computer related jobs or educator jobs all number below 3 percent.
Tips for Finding Jobs
All in all it is not very hard to find a suitable job in Dallas as long as you have good credentials and come prepared. Unemployment is at 8.7 percent but this is mostly due to heavy influx into Dallas and its surrounding metropolitan area of immigrants, both legal and illegal, mostly from Mexico, who quickly fill in the menial jobs. Broaden your search and be patient when applying for a job. Take volunteer work and internship because it will look good on your resume. Apply for entry level jobs to get your foot on the door and work your way up once you’re there by upgrading your education, taking training and additional certification. Keep your job because it will help you through tough times.
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