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 | Q1 2018 Year-Over-Year Wage Growth |
| 1 | Manufacturing and Production | 5.0% |
| 2 (tie) | Construction | 4.5% |
| Installation, Maintenance and Repair | 4.5% | |
| Marketing and Advertising | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Transportation | 4.2% |
| 6 | Food Service and Restaurant | 3.6% |
| 7 | Media and Publishing | 2.9% |
| 8 (tie) | Administrative and Clerical | 2.7% |
| Retail | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Sales | 2.6% |
| 11 | Art and Design | 2.5% |
| 12 (tie) | Accounting and Finance | 2.4% |
| Human Resources | 2.4% | |
| 14 (tie) | Architecture and Engineering | 2.0% |
| Information Technology | 2.0% | |
| 16 | Science and Biotech | 1.9% |
| 17 | Legal | 1.8% |
| 18 | Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Healthcare | 1.7% |
| 19 | Social Service | 1.6% |
| Rank | Q1 2018 One Year Wage Growth | |
| 1 | Manufacturing and Production | 5.0% |
| 2 (tie) | Construction | 4.5% |
| Installation, Maintenance and Repair | 4.5% | |
| Marketing and Advertising | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Transportation | 4.2% |
| 6 | Food Service and Restaurant | 3.6% |
| 7 | Media and Publishing | 2.9% |
| 8 (tie) | Administrative and Clerical | 2.7% |
| Retail | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Sales | 2.6% |
| 11 | Art and Design | 2.5% |
| 12 (tie) | Accounting and Finance | 2.4% |
| Human Resources | 2.4% | |
| 14 (tie) | Architecture and Engineering | 2.0% |
| Information Technology | 2.0% | |
| 16 | Science and Biotech | 1.9% |
| 17 | Legal | 1.8% |
| 18 | Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Healthcare | 1.7% |
| 19 | Social Service | 1.6% |
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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