The recovery in America’s job market is finally spreading to industries with good pay after years of being concentrated in fields with low wages.

Hiring has picked up steam in areas such as construction, manufacturing and professional services in recent months – sectors with a median hourly wage of at least $20. Nearly 40 percent of the jobs created over the past six months have been in high-wage industries, compared with just a quarter during the last half of 2013, according to an analysis by the National Employment Law Project for The Washington Post. Meanwhile, growth in many low-paying jobs has leveled off or even declined.

“I often hear that the recovery is only in low-wage jobs. That is categorically inaccurate,” Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez said in an interview. “This recovery is creating a lot of good jobs.”