Sep. 10--EL PASO -- This is one of the top 20 metro areas in the country for job openings, according to Yahoo! HotJobs, one of the nation's most viewed online job boards.

El Paso had more open jobs listed on Yahoo! HotJobs in the second quarter than cities of comparable size, said Kevin Krim, vice president of product and strategy for the online job board.

"A number of cities in Texas popped up (as good job markets), and observing what (U.S.) Bureau of Labor statistics (show), Texas was not hit as hard by the housing downturn and has some strong wind at its back," Krim said.

Houston and Dallas also were on Yahoo! HotJobs' list of top 20 job markets.

David Coronado, a labor market analyst at Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande, El Paso's public employment agency, said, "When you look at (El Paso) employment numbers, there are new jobs being added (each month) to our economy. The fact we're on this list is showing the same picture we're looking at. ... Our employment trends are not following the nation, which is losing jobs."

Growth at Fort Bliss and El Paso's natural population growth are helping boost the job market here, Coronado said.

But Nacho Torres, 47, who's been looking for a job for about a month, said he disagrees with Yahoo! putting El Paso on its list.

"I don't see a lot of job openings here," said Torres, a former store manager. Friends in Arizona and New Mexico have easier times finding jobs than in El Paso, he said.

Yahoo! HotJobs had 577 job openings

listed for El Paso on Tuesday. More than half those jobs, 320, were listed by Sierra Providence Health Network.

Mark Thomasson, chief human resources officer for Sierra Providence, said in a written statement that the jobs are full- and part-time positions and reflect the fact that Sierra Providence is one of this area's largest private-sector employers. Some of the openings are seasonal jobs tied to "respiratory season" when patient levels grow, he said.

Krim at Yahoo! HotJobs said the large number of Sierra Providence job openings in El Paso is a reflection of a strong health-care job market also seen nationally.

Yahoo! HotJobs this week began listing the top 100 companies across all industries with job openings. It's called the HotJobs 100 list. Twenty-two such companies have job openings in El Paso, according to the online job board.

Vic Kolenc may be reached at vkolenc@elpasotimes.com, 546-6421.

For more information: http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/HotJobs100

--Find jobs at elpasotimes.com/jobs

El Paso hot jobs market

Hot jobs Top companies in various industries with job openings in El Paso, according to Yahoo! HotJobs: --Tenet Healthcare Corp. (Sierra Providence Health Network).

--U.S. Navy.

--Macy's.

--AT&T.

--Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

--Coca-Cola Enterprises.

--Dillard's.

--El Paso Corp.

--United American Insurance Co.

--Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings.

--American Income Life.

--Edward Jones.

--Alltel.

--Estes Express Lines..

--Genuine Parts Co.

--Lifetouch Portrait Studios.

--Swift Transportation.

--Johnson & Johnson.

--Carquest Auto Parts.

--Barnes & Noble.

--Target.

--RadioShack.

Top markets Best metro areas in the country for job seekers, according to Yahoo! HotJobs, an online job board: --New York; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Houston; Atlanta; Oakland; Los Angeles; Phoenix; Sacramento, Calif.; and San Diego.

--Also, Dallas; Las Vegas; Denver; El Paso; Philadelphia; St. Louis; Modesto, Calif.; Washington, D.C.; Boston; and Irvine, Calif.

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