Where to find a fresh start if you're looking for work

If you're fortunate enough to be able to move to find a new job -- meaning you can sell your house and still not owe the bank any money because it's worth less than you bought it for -- then it's a good idea to know where the jobs are.

While unemployment hasn't disappeared anywhere in this country, several states are getting a boost from energy, military and agricultural job openings in the coming months, according to a BusinessWeek.com list of the best places to start over.

Some of the healthiest states on the list are Alaska, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

BusinessWeek used survey results from Milwaukee staffing firm Manpower to come up with areas where the greatest proportion of employers said they planned to hire in the third quarter, based on a survey of 28,348 U.S. employers in April.

One of my favorite cities, Salinas, Calif., isn't on the list of 20, probably because it doesn't have as many expected job openings. Salinas leads the country in well-paying jobs, mostly in the agricultural field. So if you have skills in that field, it still may be a good place to go for a well-paying job.