Occupational Outlook: A Snapshot of 2013

Occupational Outlook: A Snapshot of 2013

A recent article from Forbes.com, cited Software Developers, Accountants & Auditors, and Market Research Analysts as the three job categories with the “best” outlook for 2013. According to the report, these jobs have seen job growth rates since 2010 of 7%, 3%, and 10% respectively. In terms of the total number of positions that’s just under 140,000 individual jobs created among those top three categories, with half falling exclusively under the Software Developer category (including both systems and applications developers).

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2012-13 Occupational Outlook Handbook, not only have these jobs seen relatively strong job growth post-recession, but they are also being projected to continue growing at or above the market average- with Market Research Analysts coming in at an impressive 41% growth through 2020.

While the jobs topping the list cited by Forbes were rated as such based on raw job growth numbers, not surprisingly, many of these jobs are also among the “best” in terms of salary. A strong demand for these highly skilled, well educated occupations across a wide range of industries helps to keep salaries fairly high.

Again referencing the 2012-13 Occupational Outlook Handbook, the average national salary (as of 2012) for each of the top three job categories in terms of growth are as follows: Software Developers at $90,530, Accountants & Auditors at $61,690, and Market Research Analysts at $60,570. Local salary comparisons for each of these categories are found below. All local salary data is reported from the 2012 ERC Salary Survey.

Additional Resources

2013 Salary & Wage Surveys – Now Open!
These surveys collect local wage and salary information from Northeast Ohio employers for nearly 400 positions. Salary data will be reported by number of employees, industry type, annual revenue, county, for-profit or non-profit status, and years of experience (including new hires).

HR E-Book: 2012 Trends/2013 Outlook
This e-book features nearly 50 pages of research, trends, and opinions from area HR professionals. This is a must-have resource for any HR professional, executive or business owner to stay ahead of the curve in 2013.