Robert Half 2013 Salary Guides Highlight Salary Trends, Jobs In Demand

If you land a new technology-related job in 2012 in the United States, you can expect a salary boost of 5.3%, according to the 2013 Salary Guides from the staffing firm Robert Half International.

U.S. starting salaries for technology positions in 2013 will have the largest increases among all fields — an average of 5.3%, according to the 2013 Salary Guides f.

But as the job market slowly strengthens, you don’t have to be a techie to be in demand. Salaries for administrative professionals are expected to rise an average of 3.5% in 2013.

Administrative and office support professionals are expected to see base compensation rise by 3.5%, on average. Accounting and finance professionals can anticipate a 3.3% boost.

Max Messmer

“A supply and demand imbalance exists for specialized talent within many professional occupations, including information technology and accounting,” said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. “To attract the best employees, companies must stay up-to-date on compensation levels, including trends affecting their regions and industries.”

Robert Half has been gathering and publishing salary data since 1950.

An overview of hiring trends identified in the 2013 Salary Guides:

Accounting and Finance

Starting salaries are expected to rise an average of 3.3% for accounting and finance positions in the coming year. There is a particular need for financial analysts and business analysts and for senior accountants.

In the health care industry, medical billers are in demand. In financial services, an improved lending environment should lead to above-average salary increases for mortgage underwriters and processors.

Technology

Base compensation for information technology professionals is expected to increase an average of 5.3% in the coming year.

Mobile applications developers will see the highest increases, an average of 9.0%. Network engineers, especially wireless, data modelers and portal administrators are in demand.

Administrative and Office Support

Salaries for administrative professionals are anticipated to rise an average of 3.5% in 2013. Employers are refilling some roles and creating new ones to ready themselves for future growth.

Positions in demand include executive and administrative assistants, customer service and call center managers. Above-average salary increases also are projected for select administrative jobs in the health care and in human resources.

The newly released 2013 Salary Guides include:

2013 Salary Guide from Robert Half for accounting and finance (www.roberthalf.com/salarycenter) Robert Half Technology 2013 Salary Guide (www.rht.com/salarycenter) OfficeTeam 2013 Salary Guide (www.officeteam.com/salarycenter).

These links provide salary calculators useful for determining average starting salaries in hundreds of local markets. The guides also are available at www.rhi.com/SalaryGuides.

Information in the salary guides is based on thousands of job searches, negotiations and placements managed each year by Robert Half’s staffing and recruiting managers. It also includes ongoing surveys of executives.

Continuing or ongoing salaries are not reported because many external factors — such as seniority, work ethic, job performance and training — impact the salaries of full-time professionals as work histories develop.

Robert Half International has more than 350 locations worldwide. It offers online job search services on its websites, which can be found at www.roberthalf.com.