In a list of Toronto’s top jobs, collars aren’t necessarily white or blue — they’re often optional.

Indeed, workers in the top calling on the Toronto Star’s exclusive ledger of the Toronto region’s most promising employment areas for 2020 would likely have a stethoscope around their necks.

Yes nursing — so fraught with cutbacks and job insecurity in recent decades — begins this new decade on top of the occupational heap in the city.

Overall, the job sector with by far the greatest number of openings this year will be retail.

But in a ranking system that includes median hourly wages, the rate of job growth in the sector over the past five years and the number of current job vacancies, the Star’s calculations take those abundant — but low-paying — positions right off the list.

Others that rank high include such casually attired professions as computer programing, artificial intelligence analysis, and millwright and mechanic jobs.

The title of highest-paying sector in the rankings is held by senior business and communications managers, who pull in an astronomical median hourly wage of $61.54 per hour.

Naturally, the categories that appear most on the list are those related to finance and computers.

Here are the 25 top Toronto jobs, listed by their official Statistics Canada classification. It was compiled by the Star using Statistics Canada data, with job growth weighted at 25 per cent, current wage weighted at 50 per cent, and current demand weighted at 25 per cent. Not all occupations have been included because the data was not available.

Driven largely by demographics — we’re getting older and there’s more of us — the demand for nurses of all stripes in Toronto has grown by 10.75 per cent over the last five years. And nurses, earning a median hourly wage of $36 an hour, no longer sit near the lower rungs of the health-care pay ladder. As of Sept. 30, 2019, there were 2,410 job openings in this classification.

Jobs in this category include computer and business systems analysts, artificial intelligence analysts and consultants and specialists in business continuity. Collectively, these jobs saw a whopping 50.66 per cent growth rate in Toronto since 2015, and have a median hourly wage of $40.87. At the end of September there were 1,930 openings for such jobs across the city.

These are the people who tell you where to invest your money and include job titles such as financial and bond analysts, corporate investment adviser and cost financial analyst. They deal in such things as economic forecasts, trading volumes and capital movements, and earn a median hourly wage of $35.38. Five-year job growth in this sector was minus 2.15, but there were 1,725 openings last fall.

The former generally develops computer software while the latter builds such things as internet and mobile applications. But together the sisters in silicon jobs pay some $39.42 an hour and saw growth in job numbers of 17.54 per cent since 2015. There were 1,495 openings in the city last fall.

People in this job category sell and consult in a wide array of technical goods and services including aircraft, agricultural and scientific equipment and pharmaceutical goods. They make a median wage of $27.50 an hour. While the category saw a net loss of 0.34 per cent in the number of jobs over five years, there were 1,360 job openings last fall.

The pitch people. Workers in this mostly self-explanatory category make a median wage of $30.41 an hour and saw their numbers increase by 30.51 per cent over five years. There were 1,185 openings at September’s end.

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The bean counters keep the books straight and ensure compliance for business and individual clients, earning a median $35.10 an hour. Job growth in this sector was 7.75 per cent and there were 985 openings across the city last year.

The pitch people’s bosses, these ad and marketing executives earn a median $40.87 an hour and saw their ranks increase by 92.50 per cent over the last five years. There were 875 job openings in the latest Stats Can numbers.

Those employed in this eclectic category include antique dealers, appliance store managers, area managers for retail chains and art gallery bosses. These seemingly disparate positions bring in a median $38.46 an hour. The category saw its ranks rise by 13.66 per cent over five years and there were 950 openings as of last fall.

These slick folk provide consulting and analyzing services to companies and organizations on such things as structure, managerial methods and operations. They can be employed by consulting firms, the companies they advise or can be self employed. They earn a median $36.06 an hour, grew by 45.60 per cent in numbers over five years and had job openings of 755 across the city at September’s end.

Workers in this computer category create apps, design artificial intelligence doodads and build and administer the cloud among many other functions. They make a median $44.23 an hour, saw their ranks grow by 56.05 per cent over five years and were short by 720 needed colleagues across Toronto last fall.

These professionals are the czars of those companies and organizations that design, develop, operate and implement computer, telecommunications and other such systems. The earn a median $48.72 an hour and saw their numbers grow in the city by 42.41 per cent over the last five years. There were 660 job openings in the field last fall.

Members of this distinctly white-collar crowd direct, plan and generally oversee financial institutions like banks and the credit departments of other companies. Like computer managers, they earn a median $48.72 an hour and had a growth in sector jobs of 35.58 per cent. There were 620 job openings here last September.

These are the community college and technical and vocational school instructors. They make a median $33 an hour, had a growth rate in the profession of 12.27 per cent and had 605 job openings last Sept 30.

With titles like financial control chief and accounting director or manager, these chieftains run financial and accounting departments. They make a median $49.45 an hour and saw their ranks grow by 38.81 per cent, and had 510 openings in their category.

These are the workplace angels who swoop down on your desk to right the computer catastrophes that unfold there on a weekly basis. They make a median $30.77 an hour and saw their sector grow by 41.94 per cent since 2105. There were 525 job openings in the latest Stats Can figures.

These are the people who guide labour relations and other employee matters at a company or government department. They take in a median $38.46 an hour and had growth in their ranks of 25.48 per cent over five years. There were 485 openings in Toronto in the latest tally.

These workers manage plan, organize and otherwise oversee activities at a construction company or the construction arm of a company. The are paid a median $40 an hour and saw job growth of 3.6 per cent over five years. There were 485 openings as of last fall.

These workers provide research, reports and help direct policy in the health care field and are employed in hospitals, government and community agencies, NGOs and other institutions. They earn a median $32 an hour and their ranks increased by 75 per cent over five years. There were 410 openings in the field last fall.

The former develops database management software tools while the latter develop and administer data policies, standards and related issues. The positions earn a median $39.23 an hour and the number of jobs in the field increased by 124.71 per cent in the last five years, the largest jump on the list. There were 330 openings in the latest data.

Workers in this field conceive, develop and illustrate art and design for advertising, packaging, media outlets, websites and other commercial ventures. They earn a median $27.47 an hour and the filed grew by 29.81 per cent since 2015. There were 435 job openings last fall.

Installing, fixing and maintaining industrial equipment is the game in this field. The field, where workers earn about $30 an hour, grew by 36.04 per cent in the last five years. There were 415 openings at last count.

At $61.54 an hour, this sector is the highest paid on the list. They are the bosses who run and organize companies. Their ranks have grown a surprising 76.40 per cent since 2015, and there were 270 corner office openings as of last fall.

These executives manage engineering departments and firms, taking charge of planning and project development and execution. The pay is a median $55.29 an hour and the field grew by 88.89 per cent since 2015. There were 270 openings last fall.

They design and build machines for all manner of businesses and industries. They make a median $42.50 an hour tough their numbers dwindled by 22.66 per cent since 2015. Still, there were 380 position openings in the latest Stats Can numbers.

One Toronto. Two possible futures. Ten years to get it right. Toronto has never been bigger, bolder and more successful – or faced so many serious problems. To attract talent and grow sustainably, we need to address the city’s transportation, affordability and infrastructure needs. If we ignore these threats, the inner city buckles. It’s time to start thinking about solutions.