What to Know About Wages & Trends

No matter what type of job you're looking for, you should always make sure you will be making enough money to support yourself. When you look for a job, you should also consider industry trends and wages. This is called Labor Market Information (LMI).

What are Trends?

Job demand changes constantly. This can happen for many reasons. For example, the demand for computer programmers is much higher today. The cybersecurity industry is quickly growing after several recent, huge data breaches. Also, the virtual reality industry has grown as VR technology increases in importance.

This is a good example of a trend: a change in demand for a job, for better or for worse. Trends can help you know if jobs are growing, what jobs are in demand of workers, and what jobs have fewer openings. Researching trends can be an important part of your job search.

Use the Career, Wages & Trends tool* to find regional, state-wide, and national trends. You can also find wages and job descriptions.

How to stay up-to-date on current trends?

The environment is constantly changing, so it is important to stay up-to-date. This will help you keep your skills current, and it will show that you understand the big picture. It will also ensure that you're able to discuss current information in an interview or while networking.

You can find a great source of information for a variety of jobs on Illinois Pathways. This is a great place to start as it will give you employment data on a variety of jobs as well as the paths to take if you want to get into them. If you're looking for more detailed information, Labor Market Information (LMI) is a great resource. The Illinois Department of Employment Securities (IDES) provides a great LMI hub.

Here are some other sources for staying current:

• Industry news.
• Trade organizations.
  
• Conferences or trade shows.
• Mentors.
• Blogs or Forums.
• Social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).

Researching Wages

Thanks to the Internet, looking up pay scales has never been easier. A good place to start researching wages is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), where you can find information such as:

• Wages by area and occupation.
• Earnings by industry.
• Employee benefits.
  

 

*Source: Illinois Career Information System (CIS) brought to you by Illinois Department of Employment Security.