Wage Trends by Job Category
Depending on their marketplace demand, different types of workers enjoy better or worse salary offers year to year. How much have employers valued workers with certain skills, knowledge and abilities recently?
See PayScale's list of job categories ranked by wage trends and see which types of jobs are seeing improvement in wages overall.
| Rank | Job Category | Q2 2018 Year-Over-Year Wage Growth |
| 1 | Accounting and Finance | 2.5% |
| 2 | Art and Design | 2.4% |
| 3 (tie) | Information Technology | 2.1% |
| Science and Biotech | 2.1% | |
| 5 | Social Service | 1.9% |
| 6 | Marketing and Advertising | 1.8% |
| 7 | Human Resources | 1.7% |
| 8 | Retail | 1.6% |
| 9 | Sales | 1.5% |
| 10 (tie) | Architecture and Engineering | 1.3% |
| Legal | 1.3% | |
| 12 | Administrative and Clerical | 1.2% |
| 13 | Media and Publishing | 0.8% |
| 14 | Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Healthcare | 0.5% |
| 15 | Transportation | 0.1% |
| 16 | Construction | -0.2% |
| 17 (tie) | Food Service and Restaurant | -0.5% |
| Installation, Maintenance and Repair | -0.5% | |
| 19 | Manufacturing and Production | -1.2% |
| Rank | Q2 2018 One Year Wage Growth | |
| 1 | Accounting and Finance | 2.5% |
| 2 | Art and Design | 2.4% |
| 3 (tie) | Information Technology | 2.1% |
| Science and Biotech | 2.1% | |
| 5 | Social Service | 1.9% |
| 6 | Marketing and Advertising | 1.8% |
| 7 | Human Resources | 1.7% |
| 8 | Retail | 1.6% |
| 9 | Sales | 1.5% |
| 10 (tie) | Architecture and Engineering | 1.3% |
| Legal | 1.3% | |
| 12 | Administrative and Clerical | 1.2% |
| 13 | Media and Publishing | 0.8% |
| 14 | Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Healthcare | 0.5% |
| 15 | Transportation | 0.1% |
| 16 | Construction | -0.2% |
| 17 (tie) | Food Service and Restaurant | -0.5% |
| Installation, Maintenance and Repair | -0.5% | |
| 19 | Manufacturing and Production | -1.2% |
Methodology for The PayScale Index: Trends in Compensation
The PayScale Index tracks quarterly changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees and education professionals in the United States. In addition to a national index, it includes separate indices for specific industries, metropolitan areas, job categories, and company sizes. The PayScale Index uses 2006 average total cash compensation as a baseline.
See full methodology for compensation trend reports.
See full methodology for compensation trend reports.
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