New on the
MERIC website:
Occupational Highlights for WIA Regions
MERIC's
Long-Term Occupational Highlights brochures are now available for
Workforce Investment Areas (WIA) and the St. Louis and Kansas City
metropolitan areas, as well as the state as a whole. These brochures
offer an overview of growing and declining occupations in each area
of the state, as well as by education and experience levels.
Occupations are identified in the brochures by four distinctions:
Most Openings, Fastest Growth Rates, Highest Annual Wages and
Declining Jobs.
Most Openings - Most openings are the number of job openings expected to occur by 2012 and include both growth openings and replacements. Growth openings are new jobs that are added to the economy. Replacement openings are vacancies created by worker mobility or retirement - not new jobs.
Fastest Growth Rate - Fast growth rate jobs are those with the largest percentage change in terms of new jobs. This measures the rate of new job growth, not the actual number of jobs.
Highest Annual Wage - High wage jobs are those paying the highest average annual wages.
Declining Jobs - Declining occupations are jobs that are being eliminated from the economy. This can be caused by recessions, economic restructuring or technological changes.
Occupations are also analyzed by three education and experience categories: High School Careers, High School + 2 Careers and High School + 4 Careers. This separates occupations based on the education and experience generally required for that career.
High School Careers - High school careers generally require short-term on-the-job training or moderate on-the-job training.
High School + 2 Careers - High school + 2 careers generally require long-term on-the-job training, work experience in a related job, postsecondary vocational training and/or an associate's degree.
High School + 4 Careers - High school + 4 careers generally require a bachelor's degree or a graduate degree.
These brochures provide a good snapshot of occupations in each area of the state and can be used for career development in schools and career centers and to help local officials identify growing and declining occupations in their areas.
Examples of Information Available in the Occupational Highlights Brochures
In the Northwest WIA, High School Careers with the fastest projected
growth rates include Bill/Account Collectors, Social/Human Service
Assistants and Medical Assistants.
In the South Central WIA, High School + 2 Careers with the most
projected openings are Registered Nurses, Police/Sheriff's Patrol
Officers and Machinists.
In the Kansas City Metro, High School + 4 occupations with the
highest average annual wages are health care professions.
Visit the MERIC website to see brochures for your area.
