Occupations and Industries in Demand

With unemployment holding at nearly 10%, many job seekers are contemplating a career change or transition to another industry to solve their job search problems.  While the grass may look greener in other careers or industries, get the facts. For example, you may believe that the bulk of job openings are for Registered Nurses. But, according to the US Labor Market Information Center, RNs are #5 on the Most Openings – All Education Levels list. Who edged them out? Cashiers, Retail Salespersons, Waiters and Waitresses, and Customer Service Representatives.

If you consider Most Openings – Postsecondary Training or Associate's Degree or higher, then RNs top the list at #1, followed by 2) Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants, 3) Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, 4) Computer Support Specialists, and 5) Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in the top five.

For Most Openings – Bachelor's Degree or higher, RNs do not even rank in the top five. Instead Elementary School Teachers, Postsecondary Teachers, General and Operations Managers, Accountants and Auditors, and Secondary School Teachers are listed #1 through #5.

This employment information is based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics information. The job openings reflect turnover and new hiring projections.

If you are interested in salary levels, that information is included. The Most Openings Bachelor’s Degree or higher list shows that 91 out of 92 occupations listed have salaries at or above $32,930. In contrast, the Most Openings – All Education Levels contains 44 out of 92 occupations at a similar salary level.

America’s Career InfoNet is brimming with useful information such as high-growth and high-wage occupations, industries with the largest employment and those projected to grow the fastest, and state labor market information and resources.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also provides a Career Guide to Industries (2010-2011 Edition) and Occupational Outlook Handbook (2010-2011 Edition), both available online at no cost. These publications provide information about occupations in particular industries, training and education needed, earnings, expected job prospects, and working conditions.

Industry Employment Trends can also be followed at the Indeed.com blog. The July 2010 report showed the most job postings in the Healthcare industry (691,233) with Information Technology in the #2 spot (299,652 job postings) and Financial Services and Banking at #3 with 222,521 job postings.

Finally, recruiters ranked anticipated management hiring by industry (forecasted through June 2011) in the early August 2010 ExecuNet newsletter. The top ten included:
1 – Healthcare
2 - Clean/Green Technology
3 - Life Sciences (pharmaceuticals, medical, biotech)
4 - Energy/Utilities
5 - High Technology
6 – Manufacturing
7 - Business Services
8 - Consumer Products
9 - Environmental Products/Services, and
10 - Government / Nonprofit / Education / Financial Services / Banking / Insurance (tied).

Comments

[twitter.com/theresumechick]

Susan, this is an awesome list :-)

Job seekers, graduates and career changers are still out there pounding the pavement, trying to find the best opportunities for them...they certainly need all the resources we can give them!

Karen, The Resume Chick (on Google or Twitter for questions, comments or violent reactions)

[Susan Guarneri]

Thanks Karen - glad you found the list helpful. The Department of Labor has tons of well-researched info about careers. In fact, here is one of the latest CareerOneStop websites: http://www.myskillsmyfuture.com - check it out :-0

[stevewckrt]

Thanks. I hope this list will be helpful for us.