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Labour market information

Labour Market Information (LMI) is information about the current economic and employment situation. It includes data on graduate destinations, average starting salaries, current trends in employment sectors and recruitment patterns. 

LMI can help you find out:

  • Which occupations are in demand? What are the hard-to-fill vacancies? Which skills are most needed?
  • Are there growth sectors? Which sectors are thriving? What areas are cutting back and closing businesses? Which sectors are likely to provide new jobs in the future?
  • What are the job prospects in a particular area? What about cost of living and average salaries? Some sectors are concentrated in a specific geographical location; you may want to find out about job opportunities and salaries in your home area, or in the region where you have studied.

The answers to these questions may inform the choices you make about your future.

Researching job sectors

When you start considering your career options, you'll need to do some research on different employment sectors and types of work. You can use the information you find, to help you identify:

  • Typical skills, qualifications and experience required within a sector
  • The types of tasks involved in an occupation
  • Entry routes into the sector and typical career paths
  • Who employs in this area, where jobs are advertised and similar job roles
  • Related information such as professional associations and where you can find further reading

Good starting points are:

Using social media

Social media is a useful tool for researching the job market. It can provide a more personal view of what's happening in employment sectors. Use social media to:

  • Follow industry specific groups
  • Follow companies operating in the sectors that you're interested in
  • Engage in conversations and like topics you have read and find interesting

Find out more on our Networking page and in this article on Social Media and Job Hunting.

How to use labour market information

Labour market information (sometimes also called labour market intelligence) includes reports, studies, statistics and other information about:

  • industry/ sector growth and decline
  • occupational information
  • employment rates
  • supply and demand of labour
  • future labour trends
  • wages and pay scales

You can use this information to help you:

  • identify skills that are in demand
  • check out trends in a sector
  • identify sectors where there is growth and the possibility of jobs. Don't just look at the current situation but use LMI trends to spot where the jobs may be in the future
  • demonstrate to potential employers, your understanding of the environment in which they operate. Many employers comment on candidates' lack of knowledge about their sector or industry. As well as researching the job and the individual company, make sure you know about the main organisations and current issues in the sector is facing, as well as an idea of future trends.
  • prepare for interview questions, particularly about the industry and what issues it may be facing and that tricky question about "where do you see yourself in 5 years time?"
Where to find LMI information

It is important to find the most relevant and reliable information when researching careers information and LMI. The following information sources should be the first places you look.

LMI information

Additional resources from Careers and Placements

  • Our job sector pages – links to key information sources including professional bodies
  • York for Life - hear from York alumni about the work they're now doing
  • International work - resources to help you research work outside the UK
  • GoinGlobal includes a country guide for the UK, with information about employment and industry trends (UoY log-in required for access)

Evaluating information

As with any information, don’t automatically accept everything you read. Some information, particularly web-based, can easily be produced and could just be expressing someone’s personal opinion, rather than being based on accurate information and facts.

You should try to confirm its:

  • accuracy, reliability and authenticity
  • currency and relevance.