Chapter 1. A Resilient Labor Market

Figure 1-10. Highly compensated jobs drove much of 2001-2007 employment growth

SOURCE: Office of Assistant Secretary for Policy analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey (December 2007 compensation amounts) and Current Population Survey data (employment change 2001 - 2007 annual averages).

NOTE: Across all occupations, average compensation in December 2007 was $28.11 per hour. Compensation includes employer cost for both wages and benefits.

• Figure 1-10 illustrates the relationship between increasing compensation (includes employer cost for both wages and benefits) and the changing structure of the labor market. Over the past six years, job growth has been greater among relatively well-compensated occupations: management, business and financial; professional and related; construction, extraction, and agricultural occupations; and installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.
   
• Each of these four occupational groups paid above the average compensation of $28.11 per hour in December 2007³. These four higher-compensation occupational groups accounted for 6.8 million net additional workers between 2001 and 2007⁴.
   
• The five lower-paid occupational groups together accounted for 2.3 million net additional workers. Employment gains in the transportation, sales, and service occupational groups were partly offset by losses in production occupations and in administrative support occupations.

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