It compares the median advertised salary for jobs that require a given skill against those that do not — surfacing what is known as the “Skill Premium.”
This is particularly useful for talent and workforce teams making decisions about compensation benchmarking, upskilling ROI, and job profile optimization.
What is “Skill Premium”?
Skill Premium represents the median salary difference between jobs that mention a specific skill and those that don’t — within the same occupation. It's calculated as:
Skill Premium = Median Salary (with skill) – Median Salary (without skill)
For example, in the chart tooltip (see chartt.pdf), the skill Problem Solving shows:
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Median salary without the skill: $82,345
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Median salary with the skill: $87,345
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Skill Premium: +$5,000
This implies that, on average, roles requiring Problem Solving pay $5,000 more than those that don’t — suggesting that the skill may carry a market advantage.
What does the “Confidence Level” mean?
Each skill includes a Confidence Level (e.g., Low) based on the job ad sample size and consistency of salary data. It helps you evaluate how reliable the skill premium insight is. A higher confidence level generally means:
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A larger volume of job ads
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More consistent salary differentials
You should take caution interpreting low-confidence results, especially if the job ad counts are small.
What score is “ideal”?
There’s no single ideal Skill Premium, but these guidelines may help:
| Skill Premium Value | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| $0–$2,000 | Minor or no impact — could be noise or low demand |
| $2,000–$5,000 | Moderate premium — likely relevant but not strategic |
| $5,000+ | High-value skill — strong salary signal in market |
Look for high Skill Premiums with high confidence to guide your planning decisions.
Where do I find job ad counts?
The chart also displays:
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Job ad count with skill
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Job ad count without skill
These provide important context. For example, if the Skill Premium is high but job ad count is low, it may indicate a niche or emerging skill.