Career & College Readiness Lesson Plans
What’s the Market for My Labor?
Career Exploration
Grade Level 5
Overview
Students will learn about the existence of the labor market and that it is important to
understand that certain jobs are in demand and others are not. Some industries are
losing steam while others are growing. Students will explore Labor Market Information
on the Federal CareerOneStop Web site.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
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Complete the worksheet “My Occupation in a Fast Growing Industry”
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Research an occupation online and determine its projected growth
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Participate in discussions about Labor Market Information
Language Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
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Orally use the academic vocabulary to discuss what they learned.
Standards Alignment
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California Common Core State Standards: College & Career Readiness Anchor
Standards:
o W. 5.2, 5.4, 5.6, 5.7; SL. 5.1, 5.2, 5.5, 5.6; RI. 5.1, 5.4, 5.7, 5.9;
L. 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.6
California Career Technical Education Anchor Standards:
o 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
California Standards for Career Ready Practice:
o 1, 2, 4, 5
National Career Development Guidelines:
o PS2, PS3, ED2, CM2, CM3, CM5
International Society for Technology in Education Standards:
o 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
Career Exploration

What’s the Market for My Labor?
English Language Development Standards:
o Part I: 1–5, 9, 12
Part II: 6, 7
Materials
1. Computer with Internet access
2. Handouts
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My Occupation in a Fast Growing Industry (pp. 7−8)
3. Online Resource:
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CareerOneStop
http://www.careeronestop.org/
4. Optional:
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Sticky notes: enough to give four to each student
Academic Vocabulary
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Industry: any general business activity; for example, the automobile industry.
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Knowledge, skills, and abilities: is a list of special qualifications and personal
attributes needed for a job.
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Labor Market: the supply of available workers in relation to available work; the
market where labor skills are exchanged for income.
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Labor Market Information (LMI): is data about workers, jobs, industries, and
employers including employment, demographic, and economic data. It includes the
types of jobs needed now and in the future, how many people are employed and in
which occupations, and how much they earn. Knowing the labor market for your
county, region, and state can help you decide which occupations are likely to be in
demand in your area. Having this information increases the chances of finding a job.
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Median wage: is the amount in the exact middle of a list of wages earned by all the
people in one occupation.
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Occupation: a cluster of jobs with common characteristics that require similar skills
(e.g., photographer).
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Task: is an assigned piece of work often to be finished within a certain time
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
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Career Exploration
What’s the Market for My Labor?
Activity
Students will research an occupation in a growing industry. Their research will introduce
them to Labor Market Information (LMI). Labor Market Information is helpful in career
planning because it can provide a picture of future job opportunities.
Lesson Procedures
1. Introduce the concept of the labor market and discuss the definition of Labor Market
Information (often referred to as LMI) from the lesson vocabulary. The labor market
is the place where workers exchange their skills for income. LMI includes information
about two key elements in the labor market. These elements are the workers (for
example how many people have jobs or are trying to find a job) and the employers
(for example how many jobs are available or how many are filled). LMI helps job
seekers learn about existing and future job opportunities. It also tells employers how
many potential workers are available to be hired.
Inform students they will learn how to find out if an industry is adding or losing jobs
as this is a critical piece in career exploration and planning. Ask your students if they
have ideas about why it would be useful to know if an industry is adding versus
losing jobs. For example, more jobs mean:
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There would be more job openings so it would be easier to find a job
Losing jobs means fewer opportunities
A whole industry could be disappearing
2. Distribute the “My Occupation in a Fast Growing Industry” worksheet which includes
directions for navigating the CareerOneStop Web site where each student will gather
information on an occupation. You will need to demonstrate how to navigate the
Web site using the following steps which are included on the student worksheet.
a. Go to the CareerOneStop, http://www.careeronestop.org/.
b. Hover over Explore Careers (located in the top navigation bar).
c. In the dropdown menu, Learn About Careers, click on Research Industries.
d. Underneath the page title you will see the word, Scan your local industries to
find the strongest job markets; click on Fastest Growing Industries.
e. Select an industry. Click on that industry and review the Industry Profile.
f. Scroll to the bottom of the Industry Profile and choose an occupation. Click on
Profile an Occupation.
g. Select an occupation then click Continue.
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
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Career Exploration
What’s the Market for My Labor?
h. Select California then click Continue.
i.
Review the occupation.
5. Assign a deadline for completing the “My Occupation in a Fast Growing Industry”
worksheet. Confirm students have computer and Internet access at home or in the
school computer lab to continue working on their assignments outside of class.
6. Once assignments are completed, bring the class together and discuss students’
responses to the prompts on the worksheet and what they learned by doing this
lesson.
IMPORTANT: State and federal laws govern the conditions and limitations
for Internet usage by children under the age of 13. Before using the
Internet, check your district policies and/or state and federal regulations.
Estimated Time
One-two class session(s)
Evaluation
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Students will complete and submit the worksheet.
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Students will collect data on the occupation that they chose.
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Students will take part in classroom discussions.
Attribution
Adapted from “Considering Labor Market Information in Your Career Choice” [PDF].
The Web address is http://www.ncwd-youth.info/sites/default/files/ilp-how-toguide/Considering_Labor_Market_Information_in_Your_Career_Choice.pdf.
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
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Career Exploration
What’s the Market for My Labor?
My Occupation in a Fast Growing Industry
Worksheet, page 1
Follow these directions to get the information you need to complete this worksheet.
1. Go to the CareerOneStop, http://www.careeronestop.org/.
2. Hover over Explore Careers.
3. Under the button Learn About Careers, click on the link Research Industries.
4. Underneath the heading, “Scan your local industries to find the strongest job
markets”, click on the link Fastest Growing Industries.
5. Select an industry to explore that looks interesting to you. Click on that industry
and read the Industry Profile.
6. Scroll to the bottom of the Industry Profile to choose an occupation in this
industry. Click on the link Profile an Occupation in this Industry.
7. Click on an occupation that interests you then click Continue.
8. Click on California then click Continue.
9. Read the information about the occupation you choose and complete the
worksheet.
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
Career Exploration
What’s the Market for My Labor?
My Occupation in a Fast Growing Industry
Worksheet, page 2
Occupation Description
Anticipated Growth for this Occupation
Median Wage in California
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (list two items from each category)
Tasks and Activities (list two items from Occupation Specific Tasks, Generalized
Work Activities, and Detailed Work Activities)
Education Needed for Entry into this Job
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education