Job Growth: The Waves of Employment Rate
Battling against COVID-19 for almost 2 years has made a huge impact on every aspect of the society; including healthcare, education, and the economy in general. It’s no secret that job growth has become a growing concern: Many have lost their jobs, and getting employed is a challenge more than ever.
While many businesses have declared bankruptcy due to the pandemic, there are still a good number of job opportunities. With many professionals from established companies resigning from their jobs owing to COVID-19, big companies have begun re-staffing and recalibrating their business goals to adapt to the current economic situation. However, with the recent strain of COVID-19—Omicron—there’s a threat to job growth. Dive in to know more about the US employment rate projections.
US Employment Growth Rate
The current ebbs and flows of the employment rate in the US are due to several factors, including the pandemic. The projections have also been greatly affected by the 2020 recession. Nevertheless, employment forecasts based on the current data of US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that there is an expected job growth from 153.5 million to 165.4 million over the 2020-30 decade.
The employment rate climbed to 58.80% in October from 59.70% in September 2021. Having these said; the labor force participation rate is projected to be slower because of the aging and slower population growth. Not only that, BLS projected the US economy will have an increase of 11.9 million jobs from 2020 to 2030. This rate includes an additional data of 2.3% annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP).
The Projected US Job Growth by 2022
As stated in one their news release of the BLS, the total nonfarm payroll employment “rose by 531,000 in October, and the unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 percentage point” to 4.6%. This is good news especially for the leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing industries.
Despite a jump in job growth, economists and recruiters alike believe that the US is still facing a crisis—labor shortage. In addition, the number of unemployed still remains high even though companies are in need of new hires. One of the major factors is because of the effect of pandemic. Because of the health concerns of professionals, many of them choose to resign or park their job hunt. Moreover, the assistance from the federal government to unemployed citizens allows them to take a breather.
Aside from the fears of getting the virus and the unemployment benefits, career change, early retirement, and aging population also contribute to job growth. With the current economic and healthcare status, hiring becomes a two-sided coin—one side for the increase in the number of job opportunities—and the other for the recruitment challenge. To date, the figures for the US job growth projection were affected by the newly announced COVID-19 strain, Omicron. Medical and human resources experts claim that this poses a threat worse than we experienced in the first months of our fight against the virus.
List of the Fastest-Growing Occupations
In these trying times where health and wealth are at stake, there’s still a silver lining in the job growth in the US. This is especially true for professionals in healthcare, accounting, IT, and engineering industries. Check out our quick rundown of growing careers amid the pandemic.
Healthcare Industry
The rise of infected patients as well as the aging population has led to the demand for healthcare services. Thus, job opportunities for healthcare professionals are projected to increase. BLS announced that over a quarter of the projected jobs will be in the healthcare and social assistance sector. That is around 3.3 million of the 11.9 million jobs. Here are some of the in demand medical professional jobs.
Pharmacist Job Growth
Professionals in this field are now given more opportunities to practice their professions. Pharmacists play a vital role in making sure that people will get the appropriate medicine and right dose. They are responsible for preparing and dispensing prescriptions.
The pharmaceutical industry has grown for the past 2 decades. This resulted to $1.27 trillion in total revenue for 2020. This gave more jobs to pharmacists and other professionals in the industry.
Physical Therapist Job Growth
Another growing profession is in physical therapy. Physical therapists treat injured patients to recover by improving their movement and helping them manage physical pain.
In May 2020, the recorded median salary of a physical therapist in the US was $91,010. This is expected to increase given that there’s a projection of 21% increase in the job opportunities from 2020-2030. That's around 15,600 job openings.
Nursing Job Growth
Nursing is one of the most common professions in the medical field. It’s their duty to care and treat patients and partner with doctors to ensure that they will be given the right medical intervention.
Considered as one of the fastest-growing professions, nursing jobs boast of a 9% projected growth from 2020 to 2030 as per BLS. That said; we can expect 194,500 job openings each year for the next decade.
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Physician Assistant Job Growth
Physician assistants are medical professionals who examine patients, prescribe medicine, and order diagnostic tests. They help, assist, and work under the supervision of doctors.
Last May 2020, the annual median salary of physician assistants was $115,390. With the projection of 31% job growth from 2020 to 2030, physician assistants should expect a fair increase in yearly wage.
Accounting Industry
Planning, recording, and analyzing financial reports are some of the common duties of accounting professionals. The accounting industry takes an important role in the economic sector as it affects the business world with data-driven consultative work.
Accounting Job Growth
Aside from healthcare, finance has been one of the most affected by the pandemic. Because of this, businesses and clients are expecting to get professional advice from competent accountants.
That said; the number of job openings for accounting professionals has increased to 135,000 each year for the next 8 years. That is equivalent to 7% growth in 2020 to 2030.
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IT Industry
The IT industry is also booming and it’s no surprise because of the continuous advancement of technology. This gives way to more job opportunities? for professionals who are experts in cyber security, computer science, software engineering, and data analysis to name a few.?
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Cyber Security Job Growth
Living in the digital age makes life easier and almost everything becomes accessible. As good as it sounds; it entails a threat in the security of online data. This is where cyber security professionals come in. They are responsible for making sure that systems are secured, well developed, and implemented; as well as for assessing and responding to system vulnerability.
They had an annual median wage of $103,590 in May 2020. It’s expected to increase because of the demand for cyber security analysts. There’s a projection of 33% growth from 2020 to 2030. That’s around 16,300 job vacancies each year for a decade.
Computer Science Job Growth
Computers and algorithms are 2 things that need to be studied and mastered by computer scientists. They are also in charge of understanding principles, hardware, software, applications, and the impact of digitization to society.
Since we're living in a digital era, their expertise is needed. Hence, there’s a good number of job openings added to the data recorded last year. BLS projected a 22% increase from 2020 to 2030.
Software Engineer Job Growth
Analyzing and modifying existing software, designing, constructing and testing end-user applications, and writing new software programs are just some of the tasks of a software engineer.
The employment projection for software engineers is a rise of 22% from 2020 to 2030. That’s approximately 189,200 job openings.
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Engineering Industry
The engineering industry comprises of several sectors—mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, modern technology, water systems and plumbing, and energy production and supply. Let’s look at an overview of the job growth of the top 3 sectors of engineering.
Mechanical Engineering Job Growth
Mechanical engineers are in charge of mechanical devices and systems such as machines, tools, and engines. They design, develop, build, and test mechanical and thermal sensors and devices.
According to BLS, the demand in the mechanical engineering industry is stable and growing. There’s a projection of 7% increase from last year to 2030. That means there’ll be 20,200 new job openings every year until 2030.
Electrical Engineering Job Growth
Electrical engineers work with electrical systems and equipment. They design, develop, test, and supervise manufacturing of electrical equipment. They had a median annual wage of $100,830 in May 2020.
The overall employment of electrical engineers alongside electronics engineers is projected to grow 7% from the previous year to 2030. That’s around 22,700 job openings for both professions.
Civil Engineering Job Growth
The engineering industry won’t be complete without civil engineers, whose duties involve planning, designing, and overseeing the construction of infrastructures; which include buildings, roads, railways, power plants, and more.
BLS is expecting 25,000 job openings for civil engineers for the next year until 2030. This is because of the need for new hires to fill in professionals who resigned and retired. That’s an 8% employment growth from 2020 to 2030.
Job Application Tips in 2022
Although job growth hasn’t been that stable since the pandemic, fortunately there are still job opportunities that job seekers can explore. If you’re on your job hunt and on the lookout to land your target job, here are surefire tips to help you ace your job search.
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Plan Ahead and Update Your Job Search Tools
Climbing the career ladder requires effort, skills, and opportunities. Making the effort and enhancing your skills are your call, while opportunities can be dictated by the economy and the employment rate. You might be wondering when the best time to make a move is. To answer that, there’s no better time than taking that first step today. Start searching for career opportunities and revamp your resume and other job search tools. Keep your profile on all professional platforms updated.
If you don’t know how to begin, let our career development specialists and professional resume writers help you every step of the way. Resume Professional Writers has the right team that can boost not just your confidence, but also your chances of getting hired. What are you waiting for? Reach us today and let’s help you seize every opportunity toward your career goals.