10 Jobs With the Fastest Wage Growth

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This is a great year to be a recruiter. With the unemployment rate in the U.S. hovering at around 4.4 percent, good recruiters are in high demand and companies are willing to pay up to keep them happy.

According to a new report from employment site Glassdoor, annual median base pay in the U.S. is at $51,159 this year — a 2.1 percent increase compared with last year. But some workers — recruiters, included — have seen their pay rise more than two times faster than the national average.

Glassdoor chief economist Andrew Chamberlain says in a statement:

“Great recruiters know how to find and entice the right candidates for open positions; it is something of an art. Having an eye for screening candidates and good judgment about who will or will not work for a position is becoming an increasingly valuable skill in a tight labor market.”

Glassdoor says these jobs have experienced the most rapid wage gains during the past year:

  1. Recruiter: 7.4 percent
  2. Customer service manager: 7.1 percent
  3. Restaurant cook: 7 percent
  4. Warehouse associate: 6.7 percent
  5. Bank teller: 6.1 percent
  6. Store manager: 4.9 percent
  7. Maintenance worker: 5.7 percent
  8. Cashier: 4.6 percent
  9. Sales representative: 4.6 percent
  10. Registered nurse: 4.5 percent

1 way to boost your pay

Although a low unemployment rate and companies competing to attract the best workers are typically precursors to wage gains in the U.S., that hasn’t been the case recently.

This begs the question: “What’s Holding Back U.S. Wage Growth?” According to the Cleveland Fed, sluggish labor productivity is largely to blame.

But there are things you can do to find ways to cope with low wages. For example, you may want to consider taking on a side gig in your free time.

Karla Bowsher writes in “Wages for This Side Gig Are Soaring — Should You Cash In?” that baby-sitting is a great way to make some extra money, especially when you consider that sitter pay jumped by 26 percent between 2010 and 2016.

Bowsher writes that sitters with flexible schedules and certain qualifications can command even higher rates than the $13.97 average hourly rate.

Any surprises on the list of the jobs with the highest wage gains? Sound off below or on Facebook.

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