Careers Wales provides labour market information data (LMI data) for Wales and the UK, to help users make careers decisions.
Careers Wales aims to provide up to date, reliable LMI data.
LMI data is data about the labour market. It can include the number of people employed, unemployment, pay, job vacancies and projections of employment for the future.
Careers Wales sources LMI data from reliable and relevant sources. The data presented is triangulated against national sources. This means it is checked against national data sources, like the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
LMI data is updated at regular intervals, dependent on the information source and the availability of the latest data.
Future Jobs Wales
Future Jobs Wales provides LMI data on the regions and industries in Wales. It provides data on:
- Different industries
- Different job roles
- Numbers of people employed
- Approximate pay ranges
- Projected trends in employment for the future
- Online job vacancies
- Skills asked for by employers
In Future Jobs Wales you can compare this data for Wales, the UK, the regions and local authorities in Wales.
Job Information
Job Information provides LMI data on job roles. It provides data on:
- Numbers of people employed
- Approximate pay ranges
- Numbers of job opportunities expected
- Projected employment for the future
In Job Information this data is presented for Wales.
Where does the data come from?
The data is sourced from:
- LightcastTM, a labour market data modelling company
- Careers Wales
LightcastTM data is created from a range of government and private sector sources. These sources are collected and combined to create Lightcast’s industry, occupation, and postings data. The data includes detailed job estimates, by industry and occupation, for the next several years.
Types of data
Future projections
Future projections are estimates of the numbers of people employed in future years. Projections can indicate whether an industry or job role is expected to grow, shrink or stay the same in terms of numbers employed. Projections can be used to give an indication of job opportunities for the future.
Lightcast™ create projections of future employment based on past trends carried forward, and published projections from regional and national sources.
As future projections are estimates of future trends based on past and current trends, they must be used with caution. The data may not take account of recent changes in the labour market, like plant closures and redundancies, or unforeseen major changes in the economy due to world events like pandemics or wars. Projection data should be used alongside other sources of labour market intelligence.
Projections tell us about possible future employment numbers, they are not predictions.
Job postings
Job postings are online job vacancies.
Lightcast™ collects job postings from across the internet and removes the duplicates.
Job postings are one of the first data sets to show changes in the labour market, but they must be used with caution for the following reasons:
- Job postings are online job vacancies which only reflect a proportion of all job vacancies. Many job vacancies are advertised in other ways, like on employer websites or by ‘word of mouth'. The numbers should be used with caution as they provide only a snapshot of the total recruitment picture
- Job posting data can change quickly at different times of the year
The method of collection for online job postings is constantly being improved. They can be used to give an indication of general trends in job opportunities and which jobs are most in demand over time.
Industry classification groups
Careers Wales has defined industry groupings and job role groupings for an industry using national classifications as follows:
- Industry data is based on UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2007)
- Job role data is based on Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 2020)
Pay
Careers Wales researches and checks pay information from various sources dependent on the job role. These include:
- National pay scales
- Industry professional bodies
- Lightcast job postings data
- National online job websites
Pay rates presented are approximate.
Skills
Careers Wales presents data on skills that are asked for by employers in online job vacancies.
Lightcast™ collects data on skills collected from online job postings, CV's, and online profiles.
Data is presented on two types of skill:
- General skills are the skills that are often needed for lots of different jobs
- Job specific skills are the skills or certificate you may need for a certain job
Online job postings are an indication of which jobs and skills are most in demand.
Remember, many job vacancies and the skills needed are advertised in other ways, like on employer websites or even by word of mouth.
Data suppression
Where the data sample size is less than 100, no reliable data can be displayed. Careers Wales applies this data suppression policy to skills data collected from online job postings.
For further information on how Careers Wales sources LMI data, please contact information@careerswales.gov.wales.