The current economic malaise has been around for so long that anemic 9 percent unemployment rates and stagnant annual salary growth rates of 2 to 3 percent no longer surprise anyone. However, just as some jobs have been more severely impacted than others, Kenexa® Compensation investigated if the converse was also true: Were there any jobs thriving despite the recession?

We reviewed five years worth of salary data for more than 3,000 benchmark jobs to identify which job groups were increasing quicker than the average, and whether we could determine the characteristics these "hot" jobs have in common. We finish by reviewing career prospects for employees in typical jobs to discover if there is anything employees can do to enhance their salary growth.

Most compensation professionals are aware that salaries have been growing slowly in the past; average salary growth (across all jobs) for the last four years was approximately 8.5 percent. When we look at individual jobs exhibiting this same growth, we see a number of typical benchmark jobs—that is, jobs commonly found in a number of different organization types and possessing skills transferable across them (see Figure 1).

What could be driving the stronger than average salary growth of these jobs? Unlike the typical benchmark jobs mentioned earlier, these jobs are notable for their specialized nature and the relatively high levels of education and training required. Additionally, most of the hot jobs are expected to experience higher than average growth in openings through 2018—it is possible that openings are already outpacing qualified candidates, driving competition for labor, which drives higher salaries.

In fact, data from the U.S. Department of Labor confirms that unemployment rates for these hot jobs have been consistently lower than average (see Figure 3).

Some people have been smart enough (or lucky enough) to avoid the high unemployment and low merit increases most workers are facing. It makes sense there would be a strong correlation between fast wage growth and low unemployment rates. However, is the reverse also true? Would jobs that suffer from anemic wage growth also suffer from historically high unemployment rates? We identified a set of jobs that experienced salary growth considerably below the average 8.5 percent over four years (see Figure 4).

These jobs are notable for their limited applicability across industries and the relatively low barriers for entry. Similarly, a review of the U.S. Department of Labor unemployment figures shows that jobs requiring minimal education have endured unemployment rates much higher than average. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that the “cold” jobs in Figure 4 also suffer from high unemployment, as shown in Figure 5. Based on the research in Figure 5, it would not be unreasonable to assume that a surplus of available labor is suppressing wage growth for these jobs.

What can we take away from these findings? The obvious advice for students planning their careers or established workers looking for a career change would be to enter fields related to the hot jobs listed above, where unemployment is low and barriers for entry are somewhat high. However, for mid-career employees that lack the talent or resources to switch careers, the potential for future promotions and/or earnings growth appears to be limited, due in part to older workers staying in their jobs longer. The 2010 census data shows "seniors 65 and older tended to return to or stay put in their jobs, accounting for the few U.S. employment gains in recent months. About one in six older Americans are now in the labor force—the highest level since the 1960s." The census also stated, "As America’s oldest baby boomers begin to ease into their 60s, most expect to delay retirement longer than their parents or grandparents."

This reluctance of seniors to leave the workforce is already creating a domino effect on the job supply for employees of all ages. Workers under the age of 24 are among the hardest hit. The unemployment rate for Americans under 24 has been above 16 percent for 32 months—more than twice the rate for workers 25 and older. Meanwhile, many mid-career employees are left running in place with salary increases that barely keep pace with inflation. Workers hoping to improve their lot might want to take a lesson from other markets where supply outweighs demand—they can make the supply appear as attractive as possible. For many employees, that can mean keeping their skills up-to-date and using those skills to create new efficiencies in their jobs. For instance, a recession can be the perfect opportunity for an employee to take a computer course he or she has been putting off, and then use that newfound knowledge to revamp the inventory system.

In short, employees who take the initiative for improving business processes will be the ones most likely to be remembered at raise time. But there are other ways for employees to prove their value and hopefully boost their compensation. One way is to help develop new products or, even better, develop new uses for current products or technologies. For instance, in 1968, a 3M researcher developed an adhesive strong enough to stick to surfaces, without leaving residue after removal. It wasn’t until 1973, when another researcher realized this adhesive could be used to hold a bookmark in place without damaging the page it was on, that led to the development of the now ubiquitous Post-It Note in 1980.

Other opportunities for employees to add value include helping their employer find and open new, untapped markets for its products and services before competitors get there. For example, until the 1970s, it was considered "ungentlemanly" for white-shoe corporate law firms to take on hostile takeover work. One firm, however, was willing to get their hands dirty by taking on the work the white-shoe firms eschewed. That firm was Skadden Arps, and it was managing partner Joe Flom’s willingness to take on hostile takeover work in the '50s and '60s that led to Skadden Arps becoming the preeminent mergers and acquisitions law firm of the modern day. By entering markets where other competitors feared to tread, Skadden Arps grew from a firm of less than 100 attorneys in the '50s to a firm of nearly 2,000 attorneys in 23 offices around the world.

While it helps to have a hot job to get a hot salary, employees can add value and accelerate salary growth in other ways. Employees can meaningfully increase their pay without changing fields if they help employers make fundamental changes that increase efficiency and create value. However,for the vast majority of workers who are content simply to be good employees, or whose jobs limit their opportunities to affect process, the prospects for significant pay increases appear dim. This is expected to be the case until the recession ends and job growth returns to historically normal levels. Employees who want the hot pay without the hot job will need to focus on elevating their skill levels, finding creative solutions to their employer's problems, and above all, remaining flexible enough to adapt through these tough economic times.