The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has just released its latest revision of its annual Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). This is a great resource for those interested in changing jobs or for students trying to decide on a career. The OOH lists job descriptions, average salaries and estimates of the number of new jobs that will be created between 2010 and 2020. Obviously when choosing a new career it is best to be in a position that has increasing demand rather than finding yourself in an industry such as buggy whip maker where finding a job becomes increasingly difficult. If your position is in demand and supply is tight the natural progression will be increasing salaries, bigger signing bonuses and more benefits as companies compete for the limited number of candidates available.
According to the most recent data from the BLS, many of the new positions with the best salaries are in the health care arena, which makes sense in a time of aging Baby Boomers. For instance the number one position with the greatest increase in demand is for Registered Nurses. The BLS estimates 711,900 new nurses will be needed during the decade between 2010 and 2020. Plus, the salary of registered nurses is the highest of any of the top 20 growth positions with a median annual salary in 2010 of $64,690.
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Unfortunately, many of the other growth positions are [Read more…] about BLS Issues New Job Creation Estimates