This total includes projections of both job growth ("new jobs") and opportunities resulting from the need to replace workers who leave an occupation ("replacement needs"). (1) Projected job openings represent the total number of openings expected for workers who are new to an occupation. Sources: National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (Career Clusters) Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (data). Science, technology, engineering, and mathematicsĪrts, audio/video technology, and communications Law, public safety, corrections, and security Transportation, distribution, and logistics Projected 2012–22 job openings and new jobs, by Career Cluster in which occupations are assigned Career Clusters Job openings come from the need to replace workers in an occupation and from newly created jobs.Īccording to BLS, about half of all job openings between 20 are projected to be in occupations assigned to four clusters: hospitality and tourism, business management and administration, marketing, and health science. For each cluster, charts 1 through 16 show the occupations that BLS projects to have the most job openings between 20. The median annual wage for all wage and salary workers was $35,080.Įducation and training.Designations for each cluster discussion indicate what form of education and training BLS has determined is typically needed to enter an occupation. The data for wages are presented as the median wage, meaning that half of workers in an occupation earned more than that amount, and half earned less. Employment and wage data are for May 2013 and exclude self-employed workers. Each description also gives a snapshot of other BLS career information-including employment and wage data, education and training assignments, and projected job openings-to show how BLS material supplements Career Clusters and pathways.Įmployment and wages. Transportation, distribution, and logisticsĮach cluster description in the following sections includes links to the OOH profiles that most closely relate to the cluster.Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.Law, public safety, corrections, and security.Arts, audio/video technology, and communications.Agriculture, food, and natural resources.These clusters are further divided into pathways, which show more specific career areas with similar knowledge and skill requirements. The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium, which oversees the Career Clusters framework, divides careers into 16 clusters. The final section provides sources for learning more. The second section summarizes why both the SOC system and the Career Clusters framework are valuable and how BLS occupational information relates to clusters and pathways. The first section highlights OOH occupational profiles for each of the 16 Career Clusters and shows BLS data on wages, projected job openings, and more for selected occupations. This article helps to link BLS SOC-based career information with Career Clusters and pathways. Both methods of organizing career information are helpful for understanding the world of work, especially when they are used together.
Another way to sort jobs is with Career Clusters and pathways, a framework used by many schools and state agencies. The Occupational Outlook Handbook ( OOH) and other career resources from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) group jobs by occupation using the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Organizing career information makes it more accessible to counselors, program planners, and others exploring jobs and occupations. There are hundreds of careers in our economy and multiple ways to group them.