Job Trends for the Next Decade

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the industries/professions predicted to have the fastest job growth between the years 2010 and 2020 are those related to health care, personal care and assistance, and construction. Employment within these areas is expected to grow by 14.3 percent, equivalent to over 20 million jobs. Over the next decade, entry-level jobs requiring a master’s degree are predicted to grow by 21.7 percent. Occupations requiring apprenticeships are projected to grow by 22.5 percent.

Overall labor force participation is expected to slow the civilian labor force growth to 0.7 percent due to decreased population growth. The rate is equivalent to a growth of 10.5 million jobs by 2020. The age group consisting of citizens aged 55 and older are projected to hold a 25.2 percent share of the labor force in 2020; up from 19.5 percent in 2010. The labor force share of the group consisting of workers between the ages of 25 and 54 is expected to drop to 63.7 percent in 2020. Hispanics are predicted to experience a 34 percent increase in labor force participation, up by 7.7 million; the predicted labor force share is 18.6 percent in 2020. Asian and black shares are projected to rise slightly to 5.7 percent and 12 percent, respectively. The GDP is expected to increase by 3 percent, indicating slow labor force growth through 2020.

Non-agricultural employment, accounting for over 90 percent of jobs, is predicted to grow to 150.2 million by 2020, a nearly 20 million job increase over 2010. The health care sector is set to gain the most new jobs (5.6 million), occupations in professional and business services are predicted to gain second most (3.8 million), and construction is estimated to experience the third highest number of new jobs (1.8 million) by 2020.