The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has posted on its website two publications
that won't be available in book form until the spring: the 2004-05 editions
of the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Career Guide to Industries.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook has been a source of career information
since the late 1940s. The Career Guide to Industries was developed as a companion
publication to the Handbook in the early 1990s. The BLS publishes the guides
to provide comprehensive, up-to-date, and reliable labor market information
for those planning their future work lives.
The BLS says the 2004-05 editions will help guide workers in the new century
by presenting essential information about prospective changes in the workplace
and the qualifications that will be needed by tomorrow's workforce.
The publications reflect the Bureau's latest employment projections, which
cover the 2002-12 decade. Detailed information on the 2002-12 projections appears
in five articles in the February 2004 issue of the Monthly Labor Review, also
published by the BLS.
See the links below to access the publications.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Occupational Outlook Handbook provides detailed information about hundreds
of occupations, covering 7 out of 8 jobs in the economy. For each occupation,
the Handbook begins with a section that highlights key occupational characteristics
and is followed by sections with information about the nature of the work, typical
working conditions, employment of salaried and self-employed workers, requirements
for entry and opportunities for advancement, earnings, related occupations,
and sources of additional information.
There also is a section on job outlook that provides each occupation's projected
employment change over the next decade as compared to projected growth for all
occupations. The job outlook section also provides a perspective on the various
factors that
can affect occupational projections, such as the aging of baby boomers, the
increasing ethnic diversity of the labor force, the introduction of technological
innovations, changes in the skills that are required in the workplace, and increasing
foreign competition, among others.
Career Guide to Industries
The Occupational Outlook Handbook's companion publication, the Career Guide
to Industries, analyzes employment change from an industry perspective, providing
information about 42 industries that cover 3 out of 4 wage-and-salary jobs in
the economy. For each industry, the Career Guide describes the nature of the
industry, typical working conditions, and key occupations employed in the industry.
The Career Guide also discusses industry training practices and worker earnings.
A section on the outlook for each industry compares the industry's projected
percentage change in wage and salary employment with the
overall percentage change in wage and salary jobs across all industries.
Links
