"A recent analysis done by a major bank in the U.S. looked at all the jobs in the U.S. and divided them very simply into two groups: those that are paying above average in terms of salaries and wages and those that are paying below average," explains Walden, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

"What they found was that in the last year the jobs that are paying an above-average salary have been increasing twice as fast as the jobs paying a below-average salary," he says.

"I think this is good news for two reasons: I think, number one, it’s simply good news that people know there are jobs out there -- and a lot of good paying jobs.

"But," he concludes, "I think also it indicates this shift that we think has been going on in our economy -- and it is indeed going on -- where we are seeing the types of jobs shifting more to those that require more skilled and more education but which also pay more."