Report predicts Utah's best jobs through 2016

Architects, biomedical engineers, database managers, paralegals and legal assistants are occupations with some of the strongest employment outlook and highest wages, according to a new publication released by the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

The publication, Utah Job Outlook, projects job prospects through 2016. Workforce Services economists used computer models to predict the growth rate and number of annual job openings for hundreds of occupations in Utah and in geographic regions of the state.

The report can be downloaded at jobs.utah.gov/opencms/wi/pubs/outlooks/state/index.html.

Occupational projects can be used to help people make career decisions, said Workforce Services economist Lecia Langston.

"Who wants to spend years in school, only to discover they can't find a job?" Langston said. "In addition, our new way of ranking jobs allows individuals to focus on jobs that have both good employment potential and high wages. These projections are also important to training providers, who must determine what educational programs to offer in order to best meet the needs of the economy."

— Laura Hancock