Indeed.com is a 3 year old job search engine based in Stamford, CT. The site allows users to search a massive data set since Indeed gathers job listings from every notable job website including Monster.com, Careerbuilder, Hotjobs, and Craigslist.org. Indeed.com allows users to search for keywords - much like ordinary search engines - specific to the job they are interested in or the location they want to work.
Given its scope, Indeed allows users to research some interesting job trends. And, to bring this to a Buffalo-focus, Indeed provides a list of jobs listings per capita for the 50 most populous metro areas. According to Indeed, Buffalo ranks 45th out of the 50th largest metro areas for jobs per capita with 43.64 job listings per 1,000 residents. This compares favorably to Rochester which has 29.34 listings and Cleveland with 41.86 listings.
At the same time, the jobs available in Buffalo are not just entry-level positions. Indeed, there are 460 jobs in the Western New York currently offering salaries exceeding $100,000 a year. And there are another 3,008 jobs paying between $60,000 and $100,000.
Perhaps most interestingly, the trend for available jobs in the Western New York is up. As you can see from the image above, the job listings with 'Buffalo' as the tagged location bottomed in January 2006 and have trended up steadily since then.
This is not, of course, a perfectly scientific approach to measuring the Buffalo job market, but it's an interesting data point.