There’s good news to go along with today’s job report that showed a sharp drop in unemployment. Many of the new jobs created this year are high-paying, offering further proof of an economic rebound since the last recession.
Fifty eight percent of newly filled openings pay above the average U.S. hourly wage of $24.45, according to MarketWatch, using statistics from the Labor Department.
Among the high paying industries were business, construction, health care, wholesale, manufacturing, government, finance, private-sector education and mining. They accounted for 801,000 openings filled so far this year.
Meanwhile, the job sectors with wages that fell below the national average salary included leisure and hospitality, temp jobs, retail, shipping and transport, social help and miscellaneous services. These industries created 563,000 positions in 2014.
An increase in hiring of white-collar workers explains part of the rise in high-paid hiring. But some of the below average jobs created may fall short by only a hair.
In its report, MarketWatch said that of the 100,000 jobs created in retail,over the first six months of the year, a third have been in the auto industry. That type of position pays at least $5 per hour more than the typical $17 average for retail jobs.
In the jobs report on Thursday, the Labor Department said that unemployment had fallen to 6.1% in June, down from 6.3% in the prior month. During that time, businesses added 288,000 jobs.