Twenty hot fields with low unemployment and increasing salaries
The national average unemployment rate has hovered around the 7% mark for months now, making it seem at first glance as though the labour market has remained stagnant. But as always, an average number masks the details. There are numerous industries and regions with much lower unemployment than the average and other fields and areas with much higher rates.
The Canadian economy ended 2012 on a high note, adding roughly 60,000 new jobs in November and another 40,000 in December. Year over year, employment in Canada was up by 1.8% or roughly 312,000 full time jobs. This left the overall unemployment rate at its lowest level since the start of the recession. The Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey for January 2013 is due out tomorrow morning, so we’ll find out then if the hot hiring streak continued into 2013.
(All signs look good – a recent Workopolis survey of top level Canadian executives revealed that one third of companies plan to grow their workforce this year.)
In anticipation of tomorrow’s Stats Can updated job numbers, our friends at Robert Half have written a report detailing 20 fields where candidates are in demand and the unemployment rates are less than half the national average. Workers in these industries often receive multiple job offers, causing employers to offer competitive salary and benefits packages in order to attract the talent they need.
46% of executives surveyed for this report said that it is challenging to find skilled professionals today, a 7% increase over the last few months of 2012.
Twenty fields with low unemployment and increasing salaries:
Social Science & Government Occupations (1.9% unemployment rate)
Paralegal and related occupations
Lawyers and Quebec notaries
Judges
Management Occupations (2.3% unemployment)
Financial managers
Business services managers
Sales/marketing/advertising managers
Business, Finance & Administration Occupations (3.0% unemployment)
Financial auditors/accountants
Financial and investment analysts
Executive assistants
Receptionists
Data entry clerks
Customer service representatives
Administrative clerks
Legal secretaries
Natural and Applied Sciences and Related Occupations (2.7% unemployment)
Information systems analysts
Database analysts
Computer programmers
Web designers/developers
Computer network technicians
User support technicians
Source: A Tale of Two Job Markets, Robert Half
