A Primer for Labor Market Information: Practice Work 2016

ESE | Practice Guide about Labor Market InformationPage 1

Practice Workbook for the Primer about Labor Market Information, Ver. 2

Simple Methods for Researching IndustriesandOccupationsto Help Massachusetts Students Make Good Career Decisions

Office of College and Career Readiness

ESE | Practice Guide about Labor Market InformationPage 1

Contents

Introduction. Practice Workbookfor the Primer on Labor Market Information 3

Practice TopicOne. What industry sectors will be in demand in the future? 4

Practice Topic Two. What occupationswill be in demand in the future? 8

Practice TopicThree. What will various occupations pay? 10

Practice Topic Four. What are the educational requirements for specific jobs? 12

Appendix A: Table of Major Labor Market Databases and Websites 14

Appendix B: Table of the 20 NAICS codes at the Two Digit Level 15

Appendix C: Table of the 23 SOC codes at the Two Digit Level 16

Note-Taking Pages 17

ESE | Practice Workbook about Labor Market InformationPage 1

Practice Workbookfor the Primer on Labor Market Information

Introduction. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) has developed this short Practice Workbookthrough its Connecting Activities initiative to accompany its Primer about Labor Market Information (LMI); both are tools to help educators and counselors gain a working familiarity with LMI so that they can support career awareness and exploration activities for students of the Commonwealth.

Readers are encouraged to review the Primer first before practicing the exercises in this Workbook. The Primer provides the larger context for LMI research, explaining the background and sources for relevant LMI data. This Practice Workbook focuses on sampleresearch tasks to help the reader get started.[Note: Neither are offered as career development guides for students, there are many other useful tools and websites for that.]

This Workbooktargetsfourareas of LMI that interest students, and that commonly arise in career research:

What industry sectors will be in demand in the future?
What occupations will be in demand in the future?
What will various occupations pay?
What are the educational requirements for specific jobs?

Research about these questionswill give readers an opportunity to use the websites referenced in the Primer.

In this Practice Guide, 14 different sample research questions, relating to the four areas above, are presented and answered. The steps required to answer them are described.

Readers are encouraged to come up with their own variations of these questions. Readers are also encouraged to browse through those sites in an open-ended way, to discover for themselves the vast array of data there, analyzed and presented in many different ways to offer readers access to trends in the labor market.

It is noteworthy that the underlying web sites and sources of data are not static; they are continually being updated, added to and improved. Once you have practiced with this guide, you are encouraged to return to the process, to stay familiar with the ways to find information that you have learned from the Primer and this workbook. Note that, because the sites and data are updated frequently, they may not display the same charts and information reflected in this Workbook.

Practice Topic One. Looking into the Future:

Projections about Industry Sectors

...... As discussed in the LMI Primer, the NAICS system offers a comprehensive classification scheme for

all industries, using a six digit coding system. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development(EOLWD) use these NAICS codes to develop employment projections for the nation and state, respectively. In this section, we look at their projections about industry sectors. This practice research selects some sample sectors in order .to explore this aspect of LMI.

A cautionary note: LMI information is useful to students, but data discovered through basic research should not be relied upon to restrict a student’s career plans. The fact that a sector or occupation is neither large nor increasing does not mean it is the wrong choice for an individual student. For example, the manufacturing sectors are declining by some measures in LMI research, but they are still an energized part of the MA and US economy. Much care must be taken in interpreting the data, or guiding students about choices. The goal is to arm students with information, not deprive them of their dreams.

Readers are encouraged to browse all the sites that are listed in the Appendix to learn more about LMI. There is a fascinating wealth of information available. The sample chart below gives a compelling look at just one small slice: occupations in MA in the 10 largest manufacturing subsectors. As educators become familiar with these resources, students can too.

Question 1: What industries are projected to grow the most in the country by 2024?

Key: This question is about industry sectors (not occupations) at the national level (not state or local) and requires data on future projections of employment. The Primer guides you to employment projections within NAICS sectors published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To determine the answer, go to the website of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Using the “Subjects” dropdown from the menu, select “Employment Projections” in the Employment subsection. Select EP Tables, and then review one of the “Most requested EP Tables, namely “Industries with the fastest growing and most rapidly declining wage and salary employment.” Here is a screen shot showing an excerpt of the display of industries by 4 digit NAICS code with annual growth of 2% or more by 2014:

Answer 1: Health care and social assistance is the leading industry for growth. Notice also the substantial growth, by percent and number, of several categories of Professional and Business Services, such as computer systems design and related services, with an increase of 2.1% annually, and a total increase of 408,900 jobs.

Question 2: Will there be growth in the Leisure and Hospitality sectors

by 2024 in the United States?

To obtain this answer, again go to the website of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Using the “Subjects” dropdown from the menu, select Employment Projections in the Employment subsection. Choose Industry Output and Employment from the left margin. Then select the Data Table referred as 2.1 “Employment by major industry table.” The resulting chart displays the projections across all major industry sectors. You can also generate the list in Excel, clicking on the XLSX link provided. Theexcerptbelow is from that chart, presenting employment by Major Industry Sector for the nonagricultralsectors, shows percentage change and numbers employed.

Answer 2: Yes, the Leisure and Hospitality sector is projected to grow by .6% with close to a million (941,200 ) new jobs between 2014 and 2024.

Question 3: Are there industry sectors in Massachusetts that will experience significant growth, of more than 25%, by 2022? If so, what are they? And which will offer the most new jobs?

Key: This question is about industry sectors (not occupations) at the state (not national) level and requires data on future projections of employment. The Primer guides you to employment projections within NAICS sectors published by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

To look at projections about industry sectors in Massachusetts (or its local areas), use the Labor Market Information page available at the website of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), at . The Primer discusses this resource starting at page 42. Click on Projections (under the Labor Market Information navigation pane at the left side of the web page) to find long term (10 years) and short term (2 years) projections of employment change by industry sector (3-digit NAISC level) or occupational (major SOC codes), statewide and by WIOA area. Data also includes job counts and wage levels.

Here is a screen shot of the top projected performers between 2012 and 2022, copied from the spreadsheet downloaded from the long term projections for industry sectors, which was then filtered by percent change, from high to low:

Answer 3: Yes, there are 11 industry sectors (at the 3 digit level) projected to increase by more than 25% in Massachusetts, shown in the chart above. Ambulatory Health Care Services, at 25.1%, has the largest number, with a projection of 41,286 new jobs.

As shown, it is easy to drill down to sub-state units in the state’s tables, whether by Labor Market Area, Metropolitan Statistical Area, Micropolitan Statistical Area, NECTA (New England City and Town Area) or WIOA. The state’s workforce regions routinely look at this kind of data for their own jurisdictions to develop training programs and to help job seekers make choices about skills to acquire and careers to pursue.

Question 4: What is the projected rate of growth for the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services sector in the Cape and Island Workforce Region?

Key: This question is about industry sectors (not occupations) at the local (not national) level and requires data on future projections of employment. The Primer guides you to employment projections within NAICS sectors published by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

Answer 4: Projected growth is 24.9%, with 1,111 new jobs.

Note: Generally, industry sectors receive a lot of attention in education and public policy circles. New training programs are often developed to respond to labor market demand in industry sectors. High schools and colleges interested in career pathway development also start by considering the regional and state industry sectors demonstrating strong demand in the future. CVTE programs are required to be supported by labor demand.

Practice Search: Using the same process, determine which industries in Massachusetts are projected to suffer the largest decreases, both by percent and number, by 2022.

Practice Topic Two. Projections about Occupations

As reflected in the Primer, this involves “SOC” rather than “NAICS.” Students tend to be more familiar with occupations than industry sectors. However, typically they are only able to identify a few, and their career exploration efforts may focus just on the occupations they know. One goal of effective career research is to help students begin to learn about the extraordinary variety of occupations that exist. In this section, the practice questions will explore readily available information about occupations.

As discussed in the Primer at Chapter 6, starting at p. 33, there is a wealth of information about individual occupations across the nation in the resource called O*NET. Any occupation can be studied there by entering an occupation’s name (keyword) or SOC code in the browser. For this practice exercise, we will look at several different occupations, at the national and local level.

...... Question 5: What are the prospects for civil engineers in the United States in 2022?

Key: This question is aboutoccupations (not industry sectors) at the national (not state or local) level and requires data on future projections of employment. The Primer guides you to employment projections within SOC groupings published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For a first step, type in that key word in the browser at the O*NET home page. This will generate a Summary Report about that occupation. Scroll down near the bottom of the page for “Wages & Employment Trends” to find the answer.

Answer 5: The prospects for civil engineers are bright. Projected growth is faster than average (15% to 21%), and 120,100 job openings are projected between 2012 and 2022. The median annual wage in 2014 was $82,050.

Note: As mentioned in the Primer, O*NET’s summary reports are great sources of wide range of related information about occupations, including tools & technology used, knowledge, skills, abilities, and information about education needed.

O*NETalso has a specific table designed to present “Bright Prospects”. Use this link: Using the dropdown menu there, select “numerous job openings” to see a long list of occupations projected to have many openings. Civil engineer is on this list, along with many other occupations.

Question 6: What major occupational group will show the largest number of new jobs across the nation by 2024?

This question can be answered using the National Employment Matrix. Go to the Employment Projection page of the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site: . Click on EP Topics • Occupational Employment on the left navigational pane. At the subject heading Data Tables, click on the XLS link at the text that reads All Occupational Tables In A Single File (XLS, 1.4 MB). This will download a single Excel spreadsheet that includes all analytical tables relating to occupations, including tables that show employment projections by major and detailed occupational group, fastest growing and declining occupations, the industry-occupation matrix by both industry and occupation, and educational requirements by detailed occupation. Use the “Employment by major occupational group” to find your answer.

Answer 6: “Health care practitioners and technical occupations” (SOC 29-0000) is the largest occupational group, and has a projected increase of 1,348,100 new jobs. [The second largest, with 974,200 new jobs, is “Healthcare support occupations.”]

Question 7: What will be the demand for Physical Therapists in 2022 in the Berkshire WIB region?

Key: This question is aboutoccupations (not industry sectors) at the local (not national or state) level and requires data on future projections of employment. The Primer guides you to employment projections within SOCgroupings published by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

To look at projections about occupations in Massachusetts or its local areas, use the Labor Market Information page available at the website of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), at . The Primer discusses this resource starting at page 42. Click on Projections (under the Labor Market Information navigation pane at the left side of the web page) to find long term (10 years) and short term (2 years) projections of employment change by industry sector (3-digit NAISC level) or occupational (major SOC codes), statewide and by WIA area. Data also includes job counts and wage levels at a detailed level. The SOC code for Physical Therapists is 29-1123.

Answer 7: The demand for Physical Therapists in the Berkshire region is projected to increase by 24.56%, from 114 physical therapists in 2012 to 142 in 2022.

Question 8: What is the projected rate of growth for Computer Systems Analysts (SOC 151121) across Massachusetts by 2022?

Key: This question is aboutoccupations (not industry sectors) at the state (not national) level and requires data on future projections of employment. The Primer guides you to employment projections within SOC groupings published by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

Answer 8: 23.88%, and 4,017 new jobs (from 16,820 in 2012 to 20,837 in 2022).

Note: Computer science is anarea of emphasis in the knowledge-based economy and specificiallySTEM focus in the state of MA. Many policy makers are proposing that students be offered more instruction in K-12 in this area to prepare them for the increasing opportunities in computer science.

Practice Search: Select another occupation from the same list, and find out about its prospects. Or change the dropdown selection to “Rapid Growth” or “New and Emerging” to look at occupations with bright outlooks for those reasons.

Practice TopicThree. Focus on Pay Rates: What will “X” job pay?

Helping students determine whether sectors and occupations they are interested in will pay a family sustaining wage is an important part of LMI research. The barista job (SOC code 35-3022) so many young adults pursue may be a necessary start into the working world, but its 2014 average hourly wage was $9.01 per hour. For some perspective, consider that in MA, a living hourly wage for a single adult (in 2016), is calculated at $12.60.

Question 9: In 2014, what was the average wage for web developers in the US?

Key: This question is aboutoccupations (not industry sectors) at the national (not state or local) level. The Primer guides you to employment information within SOC groupings published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Use the Summary report from O*NET, using SOC code 15-1134, to answer.

Answer 9: The median hourly pay rate for web developers was $30.52 per hour, and the average annual salary was $63,490.

Question 10: Reviewing the BLS Table for Fastest Growing Occupations, then Table 1.3, what is the average annual wage for the occupation with the greatest job growth?

Answer 10: The occupation with the biggest job growth is personal care aides, with 458,100 new jobs. However, the average annual wage for this job is only $20,440.

This outcome underscores a point of emphasis: The fact that there may be a lot of openings for a particular occupation should not alone be the basis for pursuing it.

Question 11: What do Financial Managers make in Massachusetts?