Guides to reading the labor market

6 min read

Healthy is not the same as large or well paid. It means employers are actively adding people, separations are not spiking, and the occupation has room to keep hiring.

5 min read

A vacancy headline can look strong even when hiring has slowed. Reading openings alongside hires helps you see both sides, as long as you keep their different counting periods in mind.

5 min read

JOLTS helps explain whether employers are filling jobs as well as recruiting. It gives you recent market context, while the employers and vacancies you are considering still need a closer look.

5 min read

A fast-growing field can still be small. A large field can need many new entrants even when its total employment barely changes. Growth and annual openings explain different parts of that picture.

6 min read

A published median gives you a pay benchmark, not a salary quote. To use it well, match the occupation and location, look at the spread, and check which parts of compensation the estimate includes.

6 min read

Occupational data goes local through OEWS employment and concentration. Monthly demand data mostly does not, so local comparisons need care about what is being compared.

5 min read

Industry is who pays you. Occupation is what you do. The fastest data is by industry, the data that matches a job title is slower, and bridging them requires weighting.

5 min read

Unemployment measures how many people lost or lack work. It does not measure how willing employers are to hire someone new.

6 min read

A national jobs number is an aggregate for a past month across every industry. Your search happens in one occupation, one area, and this week.

5 min read

Projections answer whether an occupation has a future. Monthly demand answers whether anyone is hiring right now. Both are useful, for different decisions.