Top Five Industries for Salary Growth

Looking for a well-paid job in construction or real estate? Most people know that the chances of getting hired or getting a raise in either of those industries are pretty slim these days. In fact, average salaries in both real estate and construction are down even from where they were a year ago. But, there are industries where wages are finally growing, post-recession.

Online salary database PayScale.com has collected salary data dating back to 2006 to create a new economic indicator, The PayScale Index. The PayScale Index, which will be refreshed quarterly, tracks the changes in average wages of private industry, full-time employees in 16 different industries. It's clear that the recession hit every sector. But, which industries suffered the greatest wage losses and which are recovering fastest?

The following is a list of the top five industries for salary growth and the percentage of average wage increase between Q3 2009 and Q3 2010 for each:

1. Utilities +0.8%

This industry's resilience isn't too surprising considering that, no matter what the economy is doing, consumers are likely going to spend money on electricity, natural gas and other basics, says Al Lee, PayScale's director of quantitative analysis. They may try to cut back on electricity use, but they'll still need it and pay for it.

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2. Mining, Oil & Gas Exploration +0.6%

Commodities have been doing well in recent years, with the price of gold up fourfold since 2001, according to OnlyGold.com. Plus, oil and gas exploration continues to expand through the use of new extraction technologies and the discovery of new deposits. And, oil and gas demand tends to stay high because it is measured internationally and if one country is growing slowly for a while and using less petroleum another one is booming and consuming more, says Lee.

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3. Finance & Insurance +0.5%

Banks suffered big human resource losses during the recession, with layoffs becoming the norm. Yet, while many finance industry people may remain unemployed, those who have jobs are seeing an increase in wages. Lee suspects this is due to a return to profitability across the industry in 2010, after the crisis and federal bailouts of 2008 and early 2009.

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4. Health Care & Social Assistance +0.2%

Health care is not a cyclical industry so it's no surprise that it is on the positive side, according to Lee. "People don't stop going in for surgery or high blood pressure medication," he says. Compared to all of the industries in The PayScale Index, health care suffered a relatively small, brief drop in wages during the recession.

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5. Retail +0.2%

Retail certainly wasn't the place to be when the recession was hitting bottom, but it wasn't the worst and is currently showing signs of life. And, considering how badly retail was hit during the recession, this uptick is a strong hint at economic recovery. Less than half a percent of growth is very small, but it isn't negative and that's the key point, says Lee.

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How Are Other Industries Doing?

Of the 16 industries The PayScale Index tracks, seven of them have experienced upward wage trends, or at least not losses remained steady in the last year. Among the remaining industries, those recovering the slowest are still seeing a dip in wages over the previous year:

1. Construction -0.8%

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2. Business Operation & Support Services -0.6%

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3. Real Estate & Rental Services -0.5%

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4. Arts, Entertainment & Recreation -0.5%

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5. Information, Media & Telecommunications -0.3%

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By Bridget Quigg

Six Top Industries Hiring in 2011 - Don't Miss it ..

Which industries will be the hottest in 2011? Though the economy is still sleepy, some industries are moving again, while others struggle.

To find out where there's high job demand, we talked to two employment experts: Career expert Robin Ryan, author of '60 Seconds and You're Hired,' and Laurence Shatkin, author of '2011 Career Plan.' Here's their advice on the industries and jobs that'll be in demand next year.

1. Health care

There's never been a recession in this sector, says Shatkin, and demand will continue to be strong next year. Jobs in demand include home health care aides and registered nurses ($61,148). Hot specialties within nursing include nurse anesthetists ($144,821), nurse practitioners ($86,774) and psychiatric nurses ($55,155).

Many nurses begin with just a two-year associate's degree or acquire their skills during military service, Shatkin notes. Advanced nursing specialties may require a master's degree.

"Health care is the industry where almost none of the work can be outsourced overseas," he says. "Most of it has to be done hands-on with patients."

Health care opportunities aren't all where you might think, says Ryan.

"It's not just doctor's offices and hospitals," she says. "It's with pharmaceutical companies, insurers, suppliers -- any company that provides services to keep medical facilities in operation."

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2. Federal government

While local and state governments have seen their budgets slashed, there's no recession at the federal level. Between new government programs and a wave of baby-boomer civil servants who are retiring, hiring will be huge in government for the next couple of years. It's forecast that 600,000 need to be hired by 2013.

There are many administrative positions such as accountants ($55,188) and auditors ($104,762), says Shatkin.

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3. Human resources

As companies begin to hire, Ryan notes, they first need human resource professionals to help manage that process. Jobs in demand at larger companies include human-resource manager ($56,227) and human-resource specialist ($45,267), while smaller companies usually seek a human resources generalist ($50,950).

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4. Manufacturing

This one may surprise you, but because manufacturing went down so sharply in the downturn, it's now one of the industries doing substantial hiring as production expands again, says Shatkin. Unlike in decades past, many manufacturing jobs today are highly skilled, he notes. One in high demand is a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) programmer ($50,466), who runs a tool-and-die computer that creates tools for manufacturing processes.

"In some places there are shortages of workers with these skills," he notes, "because of the prejudice people have against blue-collar jobs."

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5. Energy

Thanks to federal stimulus funding, green jobs have grown. One in demand is energy auditor ($48,098), says Shatkin, along with wind-turbine technicians ($48,990) and solar-energy system installers ($47,658).

Traditional energy is thriving too, he notes, with strong need for petroleum engineers ($121,214). One engineering role in energy that requires less training is engineering technician ($47,918), who assist senior engineers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports many engineering technicians specialize in electricity or electronics. A two-year degree at a technical institute or community college can get you started in this career.

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6. Education

While many districts have laid off teachers, opportunity remains in inner cities, says Ryan. Cities such as Memphis are hiring teachers ($45,914) with just a six-week bootcamp training. You need a bachelor's degree to qualify for such programs, she notes.

"You used to need to get a teaching certificate in most states," she says. "Now, you can find a teaching job without one."

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By Carol Tice