Career Grades Methodology
Occupational projections include current employment, wages, and projected outlook data for approximately 800 occupations statewide. Career Grades evaluate the relative outlook of those occupations by assigning an A+ to F letter grade using projected percent employment growth, projected total openings, and current median wage. The methodology for calculating Career Grades was refined with the 2024-2034 release to reduce the influence of outliers and address differences in typical preparation for occupations in the state. See the details of the methodology refinements in this companion document.
Occupational Projections 2024 to 2034
Employment in Missouri is projected to grow by 3.2 percent from 2024 to 2034, and the state is projected to have more than 348,000 total job openings each year. Overall, healthcare practitioners and technical, transportation and material moving, and management occupational groups are projected to have the fastest growth over the decade. Occupational projections provide an outlook for job growth for both Missouri and its regions. Explore the latest data in the occupational projections web application or in Excel files for the state and each region.
Videos
Click on the following link to view instructional videos on how to use and view reports and data on the MERIC website.
