Labor Market Information for Job Seekers

Average Wage Lookup

Job Search Tools

Employer Locator

Search for Maine employers by occupation, industry, or employer name.

High-Wage, In-Demand Jobs in Maine by Education

CWRI has highlighted a number of jobs considered "in-demand" by expected job growth or employment opportunities from job openings

Growing/Declining Occupations

Maine's job outlook. View largest annual openings, largest net job growth, fastest rate of job growth, largest net job loss, and fastest rate of job los by state or region.

Occupations by Wages

Detailed annual and hourly wages by estimated employment and geography.

 

Publications

  • Changing Need for Educated Maine Workers - July 14, 2011 (Word) (PDF)

Links

  • CareerCenter- The Maine CareerCenter provides a variety of employment and training services at no charge for Maine workers. Whether you are looking to improve your job qualifications, explore a different profession, or find a new career, the CareerCenter can help.
  • CareerOneStop- Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop offers a wide range of career, employment and education data.
  • O*NET Online!- The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is a database of occupational requirements and worker attributes. It describes occupations in terms of the skills and knowledge required, how the work is performed, and typical work settings. Wage and employment data comparing individual states to the U.S. is available for every occupation.

FAQs

  • What are the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes?
  • The Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes are a standard set of codes used to classify occupations. Occupations are grouped into broad occupations, major groups, and minor groups according to job duties, skills, education, and experience. The use of SOC codes simplifies the process that federal, state, and other agencies use to report information about occupations to each other. For more information about SOC codes, refer to the Bureau of Labor Statistics SOC webpage.

  • What does the wage data mean?
  • Wage data provided for occupations is given in a hourly wage rate, an annual salary amount, or both. Occupation wage data is usually provided at the following percentiles: 25, 50, and 75. The dollar value given at a percentile shows a wage distribution for that occupation. These data can be interpreted as follows:

    • At the 25th percentile (also referred to as the low median), 25 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 75 percent earn more than the estimated wage value.
    • At the 50 percentile (also referred to as the median), 50 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 50 percent earn more than the estimated wage value.
    • At the 75th percentile (also referred to as the high median), 75 percent of workers employed in that occupation earn less and 25 percent earn more than the estimated wage value.
  • What are mean wages? What are median wages?
  • The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces estimates of wages by occupation, i.e., the wages paid to wage or salary employees in a given occupation in the U.S., in a particular State, or in a particular industry. These occupational wage estimates are either estimates of mean wages or percentiles, such as the median wage.

    • A mean wage is an average wage. An occupational mean wage estimate is calculated by summing the wages of all the employees in a given occupation and then dividing the total wages by the number of employees.
    • A percentile wage is a boundary. For example, an occupational median wage (50th percentile) estimate is the boundary between the highest paid 50 percent and the lowest paid 50 percent of workers in that occupation. Half of the workers in a given occupation earn more than the median wage, and half the workers earn less than the median wage.

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Contact Information

Maine Department of Labor
Center for Workforce Research & Information
118 SHS
Augusta, ME 04333-0118

Phone: (207) 623-7900
TTY: Maine Relay 711
Fax: (207) 287-2947
Email: mdol@maine.gov