We’ve seen a lot of churn in the labor market lately. In August, there were 10.4 million job openings, 6.3 million hires and 4.3 million quits. The quits rate increased to 2.9% – the highest percentage since we started tracking the data. In other words, there are a lot of available jobs, and a lot of people looking for something new.
If you – or someone you know – are considering a career change, we’ve got tons of resources to help you get started.
Explore your options
CareerOneStop is, as the name implies, a one-stop shop for all your job search needs – and it really delivers, whether you’re exploring careers, looking for training or job hunting. Exploring? You can take a skills assessment, identify in-demand skills, compare occupations and research industries. Looking for training? We can help you find training opportunities from high school equivalency to short-term training to college programs. We can also help you assess costs and find financial aid. For job hunters, we’ve got tips on resumes, networking and interviews.
You can find all of these resources online, or by contacting one of the 2,320 American Job Centers around the country to learn more about their services and arrange a visit.
Earn while you learn
If you want to gain new skills while pulling in a paycheck, you should definitely consider an apprenticeship. You can get paid while gaining the skills, experience and credentials that employers want. The average annual starting salary of apprenticeship grads is $72,000, and apprenticeships are available in a wide and growing variety of occupations. Sound interesting? Learn more at apprenticeship.gov.
Find a new field
Maybe you’re happy with the skills you’ve got, but you’re still looking for a change. With MyNextMove.org, you can search careers by key words, browse by industry, or answer questions about the type of work you’d like to do and we’ll show you relevant job options. Each career page includes the relevant knowledge, skills and abilities you’ll need.
There’s a version of this tool in Spanish (Mi Próximo Paso) and one just for veterans (My Next Move for Veterans) that matches military classification codes with civilian careers.
MySkillsMyFuture can help you find and explore new career paths. Just enter your current or past job, and we’ll provide a list of jobs with needed skillsets. Click on any that look interesting and learn more about them.
Careers begin here
Job Corps offers free training and education for people ages 16-24, and is now accepting enrollment for in-person instruction. Explore and compare career paths in dozens of in-demand fields at jobcorps.gov/train.
Get the details
Let’s say you’ve narrowed down your options and you’re starting to wonder which one offers the best opportunities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook is your next stop. Select the occupational field you’re considering, and the handbook will provide tons of information, including:
- Educational requirements
- Median annual salary
- Projected growth
You can also browse occupations by pay, speed and size of growth and educational requirements.
People are looking for work all over America. Help us connect them with good jobs by sharing this information with them!
Kim Vitelli is the administrator of the Office of Workforce Investment at the U.S. Department of Labor.
