What job in San Joaquin County provides the highest salary?
The answer might be surprising. Using the two-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), data from the County Business Patterns and Quarterly Workforce Indicators show that jobs in the Utility sector earned the highest salary in 2004. The salary was higher than the other three highest paid sectors of Finance and Insurance, Public Administration, and Construction.
While providing the highest salary, jobs in the Utility sector were not the most popular. This was because they counted for less than 1% of all jobs in the county. On the other hand, jobs in the Food Services and Drinking Places sectors earned the lowest salary in the county. Yet, these jobs significantly contributed to the county’s economy as they counted for more than 6% of all jobs and grew steadily over the past six years.
What jobs are the most popular in the county?
Four job characteristics were used to rank industries within the county. Weighted equally, these four characteristics include salary in 2004, average job growth, job stability, and employment share between 2000 and 2006. Jobs with the highest total scores in these four areas were deemed as the most popular jobs. The analysis was applied to two-to-three digits NAICS industry classification as data allowed. Employment data came from the California Employment Development Department (EDD) and salary data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Workforce Indicator and County Business Pattern.
The analysis showed that the most popular jobs were jobs in the Health Care and Social Assistance sectors. While these jobs did not provide the highest salary, they were the most stable, growing at a strong average rate of 2.8% per year in the last six years. In addition, they accounted for about 10% of all jobs in the county, second only to State and Local government jobs. Tied in the number two spot were jobs in the State and Local Government and Wholesale Trade sectors. The lowest paid jobs in the county, jobs in the Food Services and Drinking Places, made the top four because they grew steadily at an average annual rate of 3.7% between 2000 and 2006. They even ranked higher than jobs in Finance and Insurance, which despite providing high salaries, did not grow as fast and steady.
