The role of Labor Market Information in your Job Search
Where can you look to find information as a job seeker? What can help you achieve the next level of your growth in your job-seeking journey? When you are making career decisions, information of all kinds are important tools. What you want out of your career or what job you want to perform should be based on your talents and interests and what will make you happy. Realistically, it also needs to be based on some practical factors like pay, location, availability, etc. Having the right data always helps in making an informed decision. Even though it is sometimes overlooked as a source, this is where Labor Marketing Information (LMI) can be helpful.
It is customary to ask questions like:
How much will I make in this job?
What industries are these jobs in?
How many of these jobs are available? Where?
What are the opportunities for advancement?
Whether you are choosing what or where to study, trying to decide what to do after graduation, looking to make a job change, or move to a new location at any point in your career, the answers to these questions can help you decide and LMI can provide these answers. For example, you can find data about what the average computer programmer makes nationally, by state, by city, by experience level; what the expected need for programmers will be five and ten years out, and more. And that’s just one example. There is data available on over nine hundred careers.
There are so many useful ways to slice and dice the data available at both the national and state levels. It’s hard for me to go any further without recognizing the professionals who take the time to meticulously present this data and whose efforts to provide such detailed statistics, charts, and graphs are much valued. Many of the agencies collecting data create reports that are directly aimed at job seekers and address career choices and decisions that could come up at any point in your career journey. I have listed below some of the best and most relevant.
Of course, data alone isn’t going to make a decision for you, but it sure can give you important information that can steer you one way or another. It can help you make a decision that positions you for success, no matter what path you want to take on your career journey.
Where can you look to find information as a job seeker? What can help you achieve the next level of your growth in your job-seeking journey? When you are making career decisions, information of all kinds are important tools. What you want out of your career or what job you want to perform should be based on your talents and interests and what will make you happy. Realistically, it also needs to be based on some practical factors like pay, location, availability, etc. Having the right data always helps in making an informed decision. Even though it is sometimes overlooked as a source, this is where Labor Marketing Information (LMI) can be helpful.
It is customary to ask questions like:
How much will I make in this job?
What industries are these jobs in?
How many of these jobs are available? Where?
What are the opportunities for advancement?
Whether you are choosing what or where to study, trying to decide what to do after graduation, looking to make a job change, or move to a new location at any point in your career, the answers to these questions can help you decide and LMI can provide these answers. For example, you can find data about what the average computer programmer makes nationally, by state, by city, by experience level; what the expected need for programmers will be five and ten years out, and more. And that’s just one example. There is data available on over nine hundred careers.
There are so many useful ways to slice and dice the data available at both the national and state levels. It’s hard for me to go any further without recognizing the professionals who take the time to meticulously present this data and whose efforts to provide such detailed statistics, charts, and graphs are much valued. Many of the agencies collecting data create reports that are directly aimed at job seekers and address career choices and decisions that could come up at any point in your career journey. I have listed below some of the best and most relevant.
Of course, data alone isn’t going to make a decision for you, but it sure can give you important information that can steer you one way or another. It can help you make a decision that positions you for success, no matter what path you want to take on your career journey.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
● National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
● Selected Occupations Data
● Occupational Outlook Handbook
California Employment Development Department / Labor Market Information Division (EDD/LMID)
● EDD Data Library
● Labor Market Information
● O*NET - From the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration an interactive tool to career exploration and job analysis
● National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
● Selected Occupations Data
● Occupational Outlook Handbook
California Employment Development Department / Labor Market Information Division (EDD/LMID)
● EDD Data Library
● Labor Market Information
● O*NET - From the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration an interactive tool to career exploration and job analysis
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