Cheryl Catron began looking for a new job on a Monday last September and was done four days later. It was primarily her willingness to consider cities outside her Salt Lake City home that jet-propelled her search.

Unbeknownst to her, Ms. Catron had chosen to look for work in an area with one of the highest job-growth rates in the U.S.: the Washington, D.C., vicinity. Other areas with strong job growth include parts of Florida, Hawaii, and southern California and the Las Vegas metro area, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By contrast, many job hunters have been struggling to find work as the U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 6.1% in May from 3.9% at the end of 2000. But the overall jobless rate doesn't reflect the high-growth hot spots. By knowing where they are and being willing to relocate, you may gain an edge over candidates who stay put in slower growth areas.

It was in late August 2002 when Ms. Catron, then director of financial analysis at a small telecommunications firm, decided to call a recruiter in Washington, D.C. She knew the area from growing up in nearby Poolesville, Md., and was seeking a change in her career and a new environment. The recruiter said if she moved back, he could help her find a new job in a matter of weeks.

During the second week in September, Ms. Catron, 34, quit her job and relocated to Arlington, Va., just outside of Washington, D.C. On a Monday, she e-mailed the recruiter her updated resume describing her nine years' experience in financial roles. That Wednesday she interviewed with one employer, and on Friday, she met with another. Both meetings resulted in offers and she accepted the second. She's now a director of finance at a venture-capital firm in Virginia. "It seemed to offer the most growth potential," she says of her new job. Ms. Catron now earns slightly more than what she made in Salt Lake City.

The government tracks job growth only in metro areas with populations of at least 500,000. The most recent figures, calculated by the BLS from April 2002 to April 2003, show that job growth in Washington, D.C., and the surrounding metro area (parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia) is indeed robust, with 27,100 net new jobs created during this period. In second place is Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., which gained 14,000 net new jobs. Honolulu, Hawaii, is third, with 13,900 net new jobs.

Other metro areas at the top of the list of those creating the most net new jobs from April 2002 to April 2003, according to the BLS, are:

• Orlando, Fla. (13,300)
• West Palm Beach/Boca Raton/Delray Beach, Fla. (13,200);
• Las Vegas (11,900);
• Miami (10,900)
• Riverside/San Bernardino, Calif. (10,100);

By contrast, New York City ranked last with a net employment loss of 50,400. Metro areas also suffering significant losses include:

• San Jose, Calif., (-44,800);
• Detroit (-41,500)
• Boston (-36,000);
• Kansas City, Mo. (-27,700); and
• Chicago (-25,800).

It's no wonder, then, that job hunters in these locales are having a tough time finding new employment, as product-development professional Larry Kahhan can attest. He hasn't worked full time since his last employer, a telecom start-up in the San Francisco Bay Area, filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2002. He'd been lured there from an Atlanta suburb eight years earlier to manage another telecom start-up, which also filed for bankruptcy protection. Now relying on savings, Mr. Kahhan has had only a few interviews since becoming jobless.

If you're considering relocating for your job search, don't rely just on year-to-year employment-growth data when searching for locations that offer the best employment opportunities. "All of the information is historical, and these trends are subject to rapid fluctuation," says Ron Bird, chief economist at the Employment Policy Foundation, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C. Take into consideration a market's overall economic history, he says.

Most critical is learning what industries make up a region's economy, says Neil Lebovits, president and chief operating officer at Ajilon Professional Staffing based in Saddle Brook, N.J. "Bear in mind that if you were to move for a job and then lose it, you'd want to know what other opportunities in your field might be available in the surrounding area," he says. Search firms typically use this strategy to boost their own businesses, he says. "The true health of any market will follow the health of its leading industries."

Pinpointing the industries behind the expansions in high-growth areas may strengthen your resolve to move. Mr. Bird notes that in the Washington, D.C. area, for example, the number of jobs related to homeland security and defense have risen due to the war on terrorism, which suggests that the boom may be only temporary. In greatest demand are network-security professionals, says Chris Vennitti, regional manager for Robert Half International's technology division in Washington, D.C., the firm that helped Ms. Catron. "Anything having to do with the integrity of the end user's desktop is very hot now," he says. His firm's searches in this field have increased by about 15% to 25% in the past year. Currently there are many network-security jobs open at financial-services companies, and candidates need a strong background in information technology or management-information systems, he says.

Still, local recruiters say there are plenty of other reasons why job hunters should eye the nation's capital, regardless of current events. Movement in politics and public policy consistently prompts changes in local leadership, says Leslie Hortum, managing partner for the Washington, D.C., and Tyson's Corner offices of Korn/Ferry International Inc., an executive-search firm based in Los Angeles. "It's a pretty transient area. There's a ripple effect throughout Washington, which ultimately comes down to jobs," she says. "If the Republicans are in power, many association and lobbying shops will look around to be sure they have the right team in place, and vice versa when the Democrats are on top. It's a reality that's probably more strongly felt in the D.C. market that in other parts of the country."

Ms. Hortum cites several Korn/Ferry searches in the past year for branch-office heads for large firms and government groups in the area. Clients include corporate giants Honeywell International Inc. and General Electric Co., the federal government's Transportation Security Agency and several nonprofits such as the American Council of Life Insurers and the American Chemistry Council. Ms. Hortum says searches in the nonprofit and government sectors have increased.

Finding qualified candidates for senior jobs in high-growth areas can be challenging for recruiters, says Ms. Hortum. Few job seekers possess the needed combination of skills and experience. For example, a current search for a chief executive officer at a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., representing the music industry calls for someone who can speak credibly on industry issues and be an effective advocate on Capitol Hill. Such a person must pass muster with pop singers and industry moguls and still get meetings with U.S. senators, says Ms. Hortum, who declines to provide salary details. The position has been open since December.