“HR specialist” is the fastest-growing job in the nation, according to an American City Business Journals analysis. The study found that HR careers saw an annual growth rate of 18.1 percent from 2009 to 2014. Over the same time period, the average pay for an HR specialist increased over 2.8 percent annually, a full percentage point higher than the national average.

Overall, from 2009 to 2014, the number of HR specialist jobs in the largest U.S. job markets jumped from 198,000 to 456,000. It just goes to show how important HR professionals are for a growing business, especially in a job market where work flexibility, purpose and company culture are what candidates value most.

So head to the water cooler and raise a cup to continued growth in the HR field!

While we celebrate all the innovation going on in HR, let’s a take a moment to see how we got here. If you get a second away from spearheading your company’s initiatives for recruiting, retaining and engaging talent, tell us why you chose HR, then see what everyone else said when the results come out.