Hot Jobs for the 21 st Century, 2004-2014
The number of women in the labor force is projected to increase from 68.4 million in 2004 to 75.9 million in 2014--a 10.9 percent increase. The number of men in the labor force is projected to increase from 79.0 million in 2004 to 86.2 million in 2014--a 9.1 percent increase. By 2014, women are projected to account for 47 percent of the total labor force.
By 2014, women’s labor force participation rate is projected to be 59.7 percent, compared with 59.2 percent in 2004. Men’s labor force participation rate will decrease slightly from 73.3 percent in 2004 to 71.8 percent in 2014.
In addition to the rise in labor force participants, there will also be increases in total employment over the 2004-2014 period. Total employment is projected to increase by 18.9 million jobs—from 145.6 to 164.5 million jobs.
The largest employment gains are projected to take place within professional and related occupations (6.0 million jobs) and service occupations (5.3 million jobs). In addition, these two occupational groups are projected to grow the fastest.
Every major occupational group will experience some amount of job growth except for farming, fishing, and forestry occupations along with production occupations; their projected occupation totals will be reduced by 1.3 and .7 percent, respectively.
As total employment continues to climb, it is important to be aware of the jobs that will have the fastest growth, the jobs with the largest numerical increases, and the education and training necessary to secure one of these jobs. Fastest job growth refers to the percentage change in employment within a particular occupation over a specific period of time. Numerical job growth refers to the total number of jobs created within an occupation over a specific period of time.
Sixteen of the 30 jobs with the fastest growth are health related, while 6 are computer related. Most of the remaining fast-growth occupations are in environmental services and education (See Table 1).
Fast-growth occupations have growth rates of 30 percent or higher, more than twice the average for all occupations—13.0 percent (See Table 1).
The fastest-growing major occupational group—professional and related occupations—is made up mostly of occupations that generally require postsecondary education or training. Examples of these are physician assistants, network systems and data communication analysts, computer software engineers, database administrators, physical therapists, preschool and postsecondary teachers, and environmental engineers.
The 30 jobs with the largest numerical growth are from a much broader occupational range than the 30 fastest-growing jobs. Eleven are service orientated, 4 are office and administrative support occupations, 3 are in health care support, 3 are food preparation and serving related, 3 are in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance services, 3 are in teaching, 3 are transportation and material moving occupations, among others.
Seventeen of the 30 occupations with the largest numerical declines have short-term on-the-job training as their most significant source of postsecondary education or training, 10 have moderate-term on-the-job training, and 3 have long-term on-the-job training.
Among the top 30 occupations with the largest growth, registered nurses require at least an associate degree; elementary teachers, accountants and auditors, computer software engineers and computer systems analysts usually require a bachelor’s degree; while postsecondary teachers, require a master’s or possibly a doctorate degree.
Carpenters is the only job requiring long-term on-the-job training, Examples requiring moderate on-the-job training are truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer; medical assistants; general maintenance and repair workers; and executive secretaries and administrative assistants.
The pay offered by growth occupations should be considered when choosing a job or career. While wage projections by occupations are not available, a look at the median weekly earnings of wage and salary workers who usually work full time in fast-growth and large-growth occupations provides additional job resource information (See Table 3).
The median weekly earnings of all wage and salary workers who worked full time in 2005 was $651 for both sexes--$585 for women and $722 for men. You may view the 2005 median weekly earnings of all full-time wage and salary workers at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat39.pdf.
Even though an occupation may be projected to show faster than average growth and/or a large numerical increase, the median weekly earnings of that occupation could be much lower than the average for all workers (See Table 3).
Table 1
Occupations with the Fastest Job Growth, 2004-2014
(Numbers in thousands of jobs)
Occupation
Total, all occupations; Employment 2004, 145,612; Employment 2014 , 164,540; Change, Number,18,928; Change Percent, 13.0
Home health aides, Employment 2004, 624; Employment 2014, 974; Change Number, 350; Change Percent 56.0
Medical assistants, Employment 2004, 387; Employment 2014, 589; Change Number, 202; Change Percent 52.1
Physician assistants, Employment 2004, 62; Employment 2014, 93; Change Number 31, Change Percent, 49.6
Physical therapist assistants, Employment 2004, 59; Employment 2014, 85; Change Number, 26; Change Percent, 44.2
Dental hygienists, Employment 2004, 158; Employment 2014, 226; Change Number, 68: Change Percent, 43.3
Dental assistants, Employment 2004, 267; Employment 2014, 382; Change Number, 114; Change Percent, 42.7
Personal and home care aides, Employment 2004, 701; Employment 2014, 988; Change Number, 287; Change Percent, 41.0
Physical therapists, Employment 2004, 155; Employment 2014, 211; Change Number, 57; Change Percent, 36.7
Veterinary technologists and technicians, Employment 2004, 60; Employment 2014, 81; Change Number, 21; Change Percent, 35.3
Diagnostic medical sonographers, Employment 2004, 42; Employment 2014, 57; Change Number, 15; Change Percent 34.8
Physical therapist aides, Employment 2004, 43; Employment 2014, 57; Change Number15; Change Percent, 34.4
Occupational therapist assistants, Employment 2004, 21; Employment 2014, 29; Change Number, 7; Change Percent, 34.1
Medical scientists, except epidemiologist, Employment 2004, 72; Employment 2014, 97; Change Number, 25; Change Percent, 34.1
Occupational therapists, Employment 2004, 92; Employment 2014, 123; Change Number, 31; Change Percent, 33.6
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians, Employment 2004, 45; Employment 2014, 60; Change Number, 15; Change Percent, 32.6
Biomedical engineers, Employment 2004, 10; Employment 2014, 13; Change Number, 3; Change Percent, 30.7
Network systems and data
communications analysts, Employment 2004, 231; Employment 2014,357; Change Number, 126; Change Percent, 54.6
Computer software engineers, applications, Employment 2004, 460; Employment 2014, 682; Change Number, 222; Change Percent, 48.4
Computer software engineers,
systems software, Employment 2004, 340; Employment 2014, 486; Change Number, 146; Change Percent, 43.0
Network and computer systems
Administrators, Employment 2004, 278; Employment 2014, 385; Change Number, 107; Change Percent, 38.4
Database administrators, Employment 2004, 104; Employment 2014, 144; Change Number, 40; Change Percent, 38.2
Computer systems analysts, Employment 2004, 487; Employment 2014, 640; Change Number, 153; Change Percent, 31.4
Forensic science technicians, Employment 2004, 10; Employment 2014, 13; Change Number, 4; Change Percent, 36.4
Preschool teachers, except special education, Employment 2004,431; Employment 2014, 573; Change Number,143; Change Percent, 33.1
Post-secondary teachers, Employment 2004, 1,628; Employment 2014, 2,153; Change Number, 524; Change Percent, 32.2
Hydrologists, Employment 2004, 8; Employment 2014, 11; Change Number, 3; Change Percent, 31.6
Hazardous materials removal workers, Employment 2004, 38; Employment 2014, 50; Change Number, 12; Change Percent, 31.2
Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists, Employment 2004, 182; Employment 2014, 237; Change Number, 55; Change Percent, 30.5
Environment engineers, Employment 2004, 49; Employment 2014, 64; Change Number, 15; Change Percent, 30.0
Paralegals and legal assistants, Employment 2004, 224; Employment 2014, 291; Change Number, 67; Change Percent 29.7
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, November 2005.
Selected Occupations with the Largest Job Growth, 2004-2014
(Numbers in thousands of jobs)
Occupation
Retail salespersons, Employment 2004, 4,256; Employment 2014, 4,992; Change Number, 736; Change Percent, 17.3
Registered nurses, Employment 2004, 2,394; Employment 2014, 3,096; Change Number, 703; Change Percent, 29.4
Postsecondary teachers, Employment 2004, 1,628; Employment 2014, 2,153; Change Number, 524; Change Percent, 32.2
Customer service representatives, Employment 2004, 2,063; Employment 2014, 2,534; Change Number, 471; Change Percent, 22.8
Janitors and cleaners, except maids
and housekeeping cleaners, Employment 2004, 2,374 ; Employment 2014, 2,813; Change Number, 440; Change Percent, 18.5
Waiters and waitresses, Employment 2004, 2,252; Employment 2014, 2,627; Change Number, 376; Change Percent, 16.7
Combined food preparation and serving
workers, including fast food, Employment 2004,2,150; Employment 2014, 2,516; Change Number, 367; Change Percent, 17.1
Home health aides, Employment 2004, 624; Employment 2014, 974; Change Number, 350; Change Percent, 56.0
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants, Employment 2004, 1,455 1; Employment 2014, 781; Change Number, 325; Change Percent, 22.3
General and operations managers, Employment 2004, 1,807; Employment 2014, 2,115; Change Number, 308; Change Percent, 17.0
Personal and home care aides, Employment 2004, 701; Employment 2014, 988; Change Number, 287; Change Percent, 41.0
Elementary school teachers,
except special education, Employment 2004, 1,457; Employment 2014, 1,722; Change Number,265; Change Percent,18.2
Accountants and auditors, Employment 2004, 1,176; Employment 2014, 1,440; Change Number, 264; Change Percent, 22.4
Office clerks, general, Employment 2004, 3,138; Employment 2014, 3,401; Change Number, 263; Change Percent 8.4
Laborers and freight, stock, and
material movers, hand, Employment 2004, 2,430; Employment 2014, 2,678; Change Number, 248; Change Percent, 10.2
Receptionists and information clerks, Employment 2004, 1,133; Employment 2014, 1,379; Change Number, 246; Change Percent, 21.7
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers, Employment 2004, 1,177; Employment 2014, 1,407; Change Percent, 230; Change Percent, 19.5
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer, Employment 2004, 1,738; Employment 2014, 1,962; Change Number, 223; Change Percent, 12.9
Computer software engineers, applications, Employment 2004, 460; Employment 2014, 682; Change Number, 222; Change, 48.4
Maintenance and repairs workers, general, Employment 2004, 1,332 ; Employment 2014, 1,533; Change Number, 202; Change Percent, 15.2
Medical assistants, Employment 2004, 387; Employment 2014, 589; Change Number, 202; Change Percent, 52.1
Executive secretaries and administrative assistants, Employment 2004, 1,547; Employment 2014, 1,739; Change Number, 192; Change Percent, 12.4
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing,
except technical and scientific products, Employment 2004, 1,454; Employment 2014, 1,641; Change Number, 187; Change Percent, 12.9
Carpenters, Employment 2004, 1,349; Employment 2014, 1,535; Change Number, 186; Change Percent, 13.8
Teacher assistants, Employment 2004, 1,296; Employment 2014, 1,478; Change Number, 183; Change Percent, 14.1
Child care workers, Employment 2004, 1,280; Employment 2014, 1,456; Change Number, 176; Change Percent, 13.8
Food preparation workers, Employment 2004, 889; Employment 2014, Change Number, 1,064; Change Number, 175; Change Percent, 19.7
Maids and housekeeping cleaners, Employment 2004, 1,422; Employment 2014, 1,587; Change Number, 165; Change Percent, 11.6
Truck drivers, light or delivery services, Employment 2004, 1,042; Employment 2014, 1,206; Change Number, 164; Change Percent, 15.7
Computer systems analysts, Employment 2004, 487; Employment 2014, 640; Change Number, 153; Change Percent, 31.4
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, November 2005.
2005 Median Weekly Earnings of Selected Growth Occupations
Total, all occupations, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) $651
Occupations with fastest job growth
Computer software engineers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) $1,401
Physician assistants, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,155
Database administrators, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,116
Computer scientists and systems analysts, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,091
Postsecondary teachers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,072
Network systems and data communications analysts, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,062
Network and computer systems administrators, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,058
Physical therapists, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,036
Medical scientists, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 935
Dental hygienists, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 895
Paralegals and legal assistants, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 740
Preschool and kindergarten teachers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 521
Dental assistants, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 474
Personal and home care aides, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 390
Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 388
Occupations with largest job growth
Computer software engineers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) $1,401
General and operations managers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,099
Computer scientists and systems analysts, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,091
Post-secondary teachers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 1,072
Registered nurses, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 935
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing
except technical and scientific products, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes)920
Accountants and auditors, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 887
Elementary and middle school teachers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 826
Maintenance and repair workers, general, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 631
Truck drivers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 624
Carpenters, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 556
Office clerks, general, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 518
Industrial truck and tractor operators, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 499
Retail salespersons, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 494
Receptionists and information clerks, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 466
Laborers and freight, stock and material movers, hand, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 456
Janitors and building cleaners, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 408
Teacher assistants, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 398
Personal and home care aides, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 390
Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 388
Waiters and waitresses, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 352
Maid and housekeeping cleaners, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 335
Child care workers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 332
Food preparation workers, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 321
Combined food preparation and serving workers,
including fast food, Median Weekly Earnings, 2005(Both Sexes) 310
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, November 2005 and Employment and Earnings, 2006.