March 14, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Total job openings, 1998-2008: replacement and growth
Job openings stem
from both replacement needs and employment growth. Replacement needs are
expected to account for 63 percent of the approximately 55 million job
openings between 1998 and 2008, according to BLS projections.
[Chart data—TXT]
Professional specialty occupations are projected to grow faster and add more jobs than
any other occupational group, with 5.3 million new jobs by 2008. In
addition, professional specialty occupations are expected to have 3.9
million job openings due to replacement needs, making this the only major
occupational group to have more openings from job growth than replacement
needs.
Due to high replacement needs, service occupations are projected to
have the largest number of total job openings, 11.1 million. Of these
total openings, 3.9 million are expected to be due to job growth and the
remainder are expected to be due to replacement. Replacement needs are
generally the greatest in the largest occupations and in those with
relatively low pay or limited training requirements.
Replacement needs arise as workers leave occupations—some transfer to
other occupations while others retire, return to school, or quit to assume
household responsibilities. Employment growth refers to job openings that
are due to the growth of the economy.
Projections of occupational employment are a product of the Employment
Projections program. To find out
more, see the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2000-2001
Edition, BLS
Bulletin 2520.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »