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Job outlook for workforce managers in the United States
Are workforce manager jobs in demand?
Workforce manager job and salary trends over time
Workforce manager jobs over time
Workforce manager job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 759 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 597 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 610 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 582 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 562 | 0.00% |
Average workforce manager salary over time
Workforce manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $83,983 | $40.38 | +2.8% |
| 2024 | $81,657 | $39.26 | --0.1% |
| 2023 | $81,779 | $39.32 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | $81,357 | $39.11 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | $80,466 | $38.69 | +1.6% |
Workforce manager jobs by state
Most common states for workforce managers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 467 | 67% |
| 2 | Delaware | 961,939 | 290 | 30% |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 375 | 28% |
| 4 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 2,219 | 26% |
| 5 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 2,557 | 25% |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,698 | 25% |
| 7 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,377 | 25% |
| 8 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 892 | 25% |
| 9 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,742 | 24% |
| 10 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,672 | 24% |
| 11 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 1,578 | 24% |
| 12 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,375 | 23% |
| 13 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,284 | 23% |
| 14 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 720 | 23% |
| 15 | Alaska | 739,795 | 173 | 23% |
| 16 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,859 | 22% |
| 17 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 2,218 | 22% |
| 18 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 1,082 | 22% |
| 19 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 696 | 22% |
| 20 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 1,042 | 21% |
Most common cities for workforce managers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dover | 1 | 3% | $89,359 |
| 2 | Bethesda | 1 | 2% | $89,406 |
| 3 | Cerritos | 1 | 2% | $96,070 |
| 4 | Pensacola | 1 | 2% | $71,384 |
| 5 | Bridgeport | 1 | 1% | $103,400 |
| 6 | Davenport | 1 | 1% | $72,603 |
| 7 | Fort Lauderdale | 1 | 1% | $67,077 |
| 8 | Meridian | 1 | 1% | $59,529 |
| 9 | Metairie | 1 | 1% | $70,620 |
| 10 | Overland Park | 1 | 1% | $61,599 |
| 11 | Portland | 1 | 1% | $79,883 |
| 12 | Chicago | 3 | 0% | $89,308 |
| 13 | Boston | 2 | 0% | $104,031 |
| 14 | Washington | 2 | 0% | $112,106 |
| 15 | Atlanta | 1 | 0% | $64,750 |
| 16 | Colorado Springs | 1 | 0% | $87,256 |
| 17 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $77,936 |
| 18 | Phoenix | 1 | 0% | $78,491 |
Workforce Manager job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of workforce manager experts
Pennsylvania State University - Greater Allegheny
Landmark College
University of West Georgia
Brandeis University
Louisiana Tech University
What Workforce Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Kim Roberts: Business professionals lead organizations by focused efforts that revolve around products/services, processes, and people. Business professionals work to ensure the firm's products and/or services meet customer expectations, with an eye toward an ever-changing market. They manage processes that produce or support the firm's products. This requires the ability to analyze data to make informed decisions, to drive continuous improvement, and to solve problems through critical thinking. Successful business professionals must also create climates that promote teamwork and foster collaboration.
Bernie Cerasaro
Assistant Teaching ProfessorPennsylvania State University - Greater Allegheny
Business Department
What skills stand out on Workforce Manager resumes?
Bernie Cerasaro: Skills employers would be looking for would be functional skills and interpersonal skills. Functional skills should stand out on a resume and be aligned to the business job in question. For example, if focused on marketing positions, marketing skills such as data analytics, market research, consumer behavior, global marketing, and professional selling skills would be areas for which employers would be looking. If the job market is looking for someone in accounting, then functional skills that would stand out would be intermediate financial accounting skills and courses on taxation and auditing. For those seeking positions in project management or supply chain management, skills that would stand out would encompass subject matter such as project management, portfolio management, operations planning and control, purchasing and materials management, and knowledge of ERP type systems and other business processes.
Skill sets can be enhanced via various types of certification. For example, those interested in accounting might pursue a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) license, which requires 150 credits. As most universities require 120 credits for a bachelor's degree in business, a CPA would require just an additional 30 credits, which students can start accumulating while still at college. Project management certification is also an opportunity to enhance the aforementioned skills and would certainly stand out on an applicant's resume. The Project Management Institute (PMI) promotes PMP certification, which validates that you are highly skilled in soft skills to lead project teams and have the required technical aspects of managing projects. Some universities are working with the PMI to have PMI-approved courses. Approved courses are used toward the PMP training hours required to sit for the exam. For example, Penn State University has received approval for two such courses, Portfolio Management and Organizations and Project Planning and Resource Management.
Due to the high rate of interaction with the global marketplace and the complexity of international business, managers are looking more closely at applicants who have some familiarity with global markets and international culture, such as applicants who may have study abroad experience, traveled internationally, speak a foreign language or have lived or worked in another country.
What soft skills should all Workforce Managers possess?
Bernie Cerasaro: Soft skills or conceptual skills are critical in today's business world. Lack of such interpersonal skills is a major reason highly qualified professionals are not promoted (Lee, n.d.)
As a former recruiter for Xerox Corporation, I looked for problem-solving, decision-making, and time management skills. Problem-solving supports creativity allowing workers to evaluate and prioritize options to determine the best solution. Much time and money can be wasted in selecting the wrong option.
Proper decision-making allows companies to quickly react to internal problems, customer concerns, changing market trends, and the use of ever-advancing technology in the workplace. The increased use of empowerment in the workplace, which has been enhanced due to the pandemic, has allowed employees to make more decisions, which requires strong decision-making capability. In addition, the pandemic has caused many businesses to use alternate work structures such as working from home, leading to less direct supervision. Consequently, employers are looking for people who are self-motivated, self-directed, and who employ good time management skills.
Teamwork is one of the most commonly required skills in the work environment. The ability to work together is essential. Due to downsizing, there are fewer managers within companies. Since few individuals possess all the knowledge and skills needed, teamwork has become essential. Getting along and working together to achieve objectives and meet deliverables is critical to project completion. Managers are also looking to teams to provide a greater range of ideas and innovation. Teams can also motivate each other for the timely completion of tasks.
Conflict management enhances decision-making abilities and increases creativity which produces innovative solutions for ongoing problems. The ability to handle conflict productively helps solve problems resulting in demoralization, absenteeism, and turnover. Productive resolution of such problems leads to increased trust and increased employee involvement.
For those aspiring to management positions, leadership is key. Leaders need to promote the company's mission and vision among their subordinates. They need to influence employees to achieve goals by motivating them, resulting in a higher level of performance. This type of leadership is paramount in today's marketplace for company advancement, expansion, and survival.
Other important soft skills include verbal and written communication, persuasive skills, negotiation, and listening skills. Communication is vital to company performance. The ability of company personnel to communicate clearly, succinctly, and accurately will increase productivity. Good communication requires being observant of both verbal and nonverbal signals.
Persuasion and negotiation, two other soft skills, require good listening skills. In today's work environment, employees are no longer subject to a hierarchical structure, a structure of non-questioning of their manager's requests. This requires managers to be more persuasive. Negotiation is practiced by all of us on a day-to-day basis, and more so in business. Strong negotiation skills are essential internally (managers and employees) and externally (sales negotiations, contract negotiations, etc.).
We often forget the skill of listening, as most of us prefer to talk rather than listen. However, it is essential to understand what your company and customers want. This is not just "hearing" but actually practicing listening skills by asking questions, confirming content heard, and providing feedback. Listening requires effort; it requires concentration and attention to what is being said.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Workforce Managers?
Dr. Jeanette Landin: The most important hard skill is using current technology and the aptitude to learn innovative technology. Old-world technologies such as office technology skills are an absolute minimum for business managers. A business manager must be willing to learn and adapt to emerging electronic communication media to reach organizational goals. Managers can learn other hard or technical skills as needed to accomplish the company's objectives if the manager possesses the aptitude and disposition to be effective.
Thomas Gainey Ph.D.
Chair and ProfessorUniversity of West Georgia
Department of Management in the Richards College of Business
What skills stand out on Workforce Manager resumes?
Thomas Gainey Ph.D.: Given the recent pandemic, many employers are looking for employees who can easily adjust to changing conditions and adapt to working online if necessary. Thus, resumes that demonstrate a candidate is flexible, creative, and self-disciplined are going to be attractive. Additionally, the extent to which a candidate can show excellent time-management skills will likely create more opportunities in the job market.
What soft skills should all Workforce Managers possess?
Thomas Gainey Ph.D.: Soft skills are critical as many workers continue to work from home or at least work more of a hybrid schedule. The ability to work effectively with other individuals, sometimes from a distance, has never been more critical. Those individuals who exhibit excellent communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills will likely be in high demand.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Workforce Managers?
Thomas Gainey Ph.D.: With the recent pandemic and the growing reliance on technology to perform many jobs, individuals have been forced to quickly develop or strengthen their technical skills. And these technical skills are in high demand by employers. Individuals with knowledge and experience with enterprise systems, Microsoft Office applications, and popular programming languages will have a significant advantage.
Hagit Weihs Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Accounting in the Brandeis International Business School and the Undergraduate Advising Head to the Business ProgramBrandeis University
International Business School
What hard/technical skills are most important for Workforce Managers?
Hagit Weihs Ph.D.: Employers appreciate accounting, finance, and marketing literacy. These include a deep understanding of the different business disciplines (good financial statement analysis skills, understanding how budgets are created and followed, understanding financial markets, marketing, etc.). Application of these skills using data analytics tools are very important - these include data manipulation and presentation for the purpose of decision making using various software tools.
What skills will help Workforce Managers earn the most?
Hagit Weihs Ph.D.: Students who specialize in a certain discipline will earn a higher initial salary. Examples are accounting or finance, marketing, real estate - having a deeper understanding of the discipline and internship and/or field project experience in that discipline. Networking, drive, and creativity, as well as the willingness to continue to learn and grow, will all continue to increase salary down the road.
Patrick Scott Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of EconomicsLouisiana Tech University
Economics and Finance Department
What type of skills will young Workforce Managers need?
Patrick Scott Ph.D.: I think the importance of critical thinking and reasoning skills cannot be overstated enough. In this area, economics shines. Additionally, analytical and quantitative skills are more important than ever. Businesses continue to make the shift towards data-driven decision making. The ability to quickly analyze data and correctly assign an interpretation or meaning to that data is an important job market skill. With just a little bit of economic intuition, combined data science skills, business economics majors are uniquely positioned for success in the job market of tomorrow.