I'm involved with hiring people for my company in many parts of the country so here's my take:
- Chicago - it took a beating so folks, especially financial services industry are still worried about more regulations so definitely being conservative with the hiring or making any drastic changes; hearing of still some cuts, but may have settled down for the most part
- Detroit - seems to be calming down - haven't heard much about any more serious cuts, but no hiring either
- Other mid-west states (WI, MN, for example) - unfortunately, if employers aren't cutting, they are thinking twice about hiring for replacement, so not a lot of job growth
- DC Metro (DC, VA, MD) has been insulated given the Fed's presence (and all the contractors in the area supporting them), but despite that, reality is that there are still a lot of folks unemployed.
AARA funds are just now hitting the streets though, so hopefully there is hope...if you have the right skill sets and can move to the area where the right match for your skills are going to be.....