PLAN 053: The Changing American Job
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Michele Hayslett
Data Services Librarian
Davis Library - Reference
michele_hayslett@unc.edu
962-1151
Instruction Session
September 17
247 Davis Library, 11am - 12:15
IM us
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Introduction to Library Research
Citing 
Citing Information Tutorial (UNC Libraries)
Search
Data Sources
O*NET OnLine (private) - the Skills Search area of the web site allows you to select skills that characterize you and then matches them with those needed for various occupations. A good tool for exploring possible careers.
CareerOneStop (U.S. Dept. of Labor) - enables comparisons of wages in different metro areas, and within a local area with other, similar occupations; provides employment trends (projections) nationally and by state. Note: this is an aggregator site: it presents information from a variety of sources. Be sure to include their original source in your citation as well (BLS or Employment Security Commission etc.).
- Follow the link for Students on the left; links under Explore Careers, especially Wages and Employment Trends>> Wages by Occupation and Local Area, and Employment Trends by Occupation
- Remember the FAQs - What does the wage data mean?
- Total Employment by Industry Sector (for nation or state) - provides data for three recent years to show a short-term trend
Equal Employment Opportunity Data Tool (special tabulation by the Census Bureau for other agencies [listed on the web site] based on decennial data) - "The Census 2000 Special EEO Tabulation serves as the primary external benchmark for comparing the race, ethnicity, and sex composition of an organization's internal workforce, and the analogous external labor market, within a specified geography and job category."
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Provides the following information about hundreds of jobs:
- the training and education needed
- earnings
- expected job prospects
- what workers do on the job
- working conditions
In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each state, and more.
Career Guide to Industries, Index by Industry - See the outlook section of a given report for information about the future prospects of your chosen industry.
IBISWorld Industry Reports - source for industry surveys. Can download report as a Word file so easy to capture quotations (be sure to cite them!). Each report includes a "recession update" section with very recent impacts.
- Industry Market Research>>Find an industry by Key Word or a Company name. (Be sure to enter occupation as well as industry ["social work" and "social worker"].)
NetAdvantage - good source for industry surveys but only helpful for some careers. This database is really structured to provide background research for investors; however, the surveys do provide trend information for the industries included. Default tab is Company upon entering the database so switch to Industry tab to find the Surveys.
Note: With both sources of industry surveys, dates of reports will vary.