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Government website shows job prospects
Charlottesville, Sept 21: If you`re thinking of selecting a career, switching jobs or reentering the labor market, you may want to learn more about your prospects by visiting the Web site of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Charlottesville, Sept 21: If you`re thinking of selecting a career, switching jobs or reentering the labor market, you may want to learn more about your prospects by visiting the Web site of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The site is at http:/www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/ooqhome.htm .
The bureau, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, expects the economy will add 22 million jobs in this decade, bringing the work force to 168 million employed by 2010. Knowing which job categories will grow and contract could give you a heads-up about what field to enter and how to prepare yourself for whatever you decide to do.
Despite the recent weakness in the technology sector, computer-related jobs hold the brightest prospects in the long-term, the bureau says.
Bureau economist Jon Sargent said, "We`re projecting computer professionals overall will be the fastest-growing occupation of the decade. We expect to add 664,000 software engineers, a 95 percent gain over 2000, and 677,000 computer support specialists and systems administrators, a 92 percent gain."
In this decade, the computer industry will also need to find 554,000 systems analysts, computer scientists and data base administrators, and 95,000 programmers, according to a special issue of the "Occupational Outlook Quarterly."
After computer and data processing, Sargent said the fastest-growing industries will be home health care, up 68 percent; residential care facilities, up 64 percent; cable and pay TV, up 51 percent; personnel services, up 49 percent; and psychologists, therapists, and miscellaneous health practitioners, up 47 percent.
The top 10 industries are rounded out by warehousing and storage, up 45 percent; water and sanitary services, up 45 percent; physicians` offices, up 44 percent; and veterinary services, up 44 percent. It`s worth noting that five of the top 10 growth areas have to do with health care in one form or another.
Virtually every field allied with health care will be crying for more help. Drug manufacturing, for example, will see employment grow 75 percent, from 315,000 to 390,000 workers in this decade, Sargent said.
"Occupational Outlook" covers 270 distinct occupations, ranging from flight attendants, up 18 percent, to recreation and fitness workers, up 28 percent, to firefighters, up just 9 percent, to police and detectives, up 22 percent, to hotel desk clerks, up 33 percent, to automobile mechanics, up 18 percent, and so forth.
The BLS Outlook also reports occupations where payrolls are contracting. For example, there were 71,000 broadcast announcers in 2000 but owing to a "consolidation of radio and TV stations," among other factors, there will be 4,000 fewer of them come 2010.
There will also be fewer employees in the offices of the Federal government, in households that now employ maids, and in textile and apparel factories, Sargent said.
Most of the positions covered by Occupational Outlook do not require college degrees but the guide includes a chart titled "Education Pays," listing the median earnings for year-round, full time workers aged 25 or older by educational attainment.
If you have only some high school can expect to earn just $21,400 a year. If you have a high school diploma you can expect $28,000 a year. An Associate`s degree typically will bring you $35,000 a year and a Bachelor`s degree $46,000.
Those with a Master`s degrees are earning $55,000 and a Doctorate is good for $70,000. At the head of the class are those with a professional degree, earning more than $80,000 annually, BLS said.
"If you don`t have a college degree," Sargent said, "your best prospects are those jobs where you can get long-term, on-the-job training, such as in the construction trades, which will add 862,000 new jobs."
Nor do you need college degrees for many skilled craft occupations. Some of these occupations, and the numbers of new workers needed, are: retail worker supervisors, 168,000; restaurant cooks, 145,000; police and sheriff patrol officers, 141,000; and construction supervisors, 131,000.
Demand will also increase for electricians by 120,000; carpenters, 98,000; food preparation supervisors, 83,000; supervisors of mechanic installers and repairers, 71,000; and food service managers, 70,000.
Despite the fact some manufacturers export jobs abroad, foreign firms continue to locate plants here so overall demand for manufacturing workers is actually rising. In this decade, Sargent said, manufacturers will add 577,000 workers to their payrolls.
BLS also publishes an Occupational Outlook Handbook, perhaps the most widely known reference book on occupations and careers. This can be viewed on the Internet at http:/www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm .
Bureau Report
The site is at http:/www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/ooqhome.htm .
The bureau, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, expects the economy will add 22 million jobs in this decade, bringing the work force to 168 million employed by 2010. Knowing which job categories will grow and contract could give you a heads-up about what field to enter and how to prepare yourself for whatever you decide to do.
Despite the recent weakness in the technology sector, computer-related jobs hold the brightest prospects in the long-term, the bureau says.
Bureau economist Jon Sargent said, "We`re projecting computer professionals overall will be the fastest-growing occupation of the decade. We expect to add 664,000 software engineers, a 95 percent gain over 2000, and 677,000 computer support specialists and systems administrators, a 92 percent gain."
In this decade, the computer industry will also need to find 554,000 systems analysts, computer scientists and data base administrators, and 95,000 programmers, according to a special issue of the "Occupational Outlook Quarterly."
After computer and data processing, Sargent said the fastest-growing industries will be home health care, up 68 percent; residential care facilities, up 64 percent; cable and pay TV, up 51 percent; personnel services, up 49 percent; and psychologists, therapists, and miscellaneous health practitioners, up 47 percent.
The top 10 industries are rounded out by warehousing and storage, up 45 percent; water and sanitary services, up 45 percent; physicians` offices, up 44 percent; and veterinary services, up 44 percent. It`s worth noting that five of the top 10 growth areas have to do with health care in one form or another.
Virtually every field allied with health care will be crying for more help. Drug manufacturing, for example, will see employment grow 75 percent, from 315,000 to 390,000 workers in this decade, Sargent said.
"Occupational Outlook" covers 270 distinct occupations, ranging from flight attendants, up 18 percent, to recreation and fitness workers, up 28 percent, to firefighters, up just 9 percent, to police and detectives, up 22 percent, to hotel desk clerks, up 33 percent, to automobile mechanics, up 18 percent, and so forth.
The BLS Outlook also reports occupations where payrolls are contracting. For example, there were 71,000 broadcast announcers in 2000 but owing to a "consolidation of radio and TV stations," among other factors, there will be 4,000 fewer of them come 2010.
There will also be fewer employees in the offices of the Federal government, in households that now employ maids, and in textile and apparel factories, Sargent said.
Most of the positions covered by Occupational Outlook do not require college degrees but the guide includes a chart titled "Education Pays," listing the median earnings for year-round, full time workers aged 25 or older by educational attainment.
If you have only some high school can expect to earn just $21,400 a year. If you have a high school diploma you can expect $28,000 a year. An Associate`s degree typically will bring you $35,000 a year and a Bachelor`s degree $46,000.
Those with a Master`s degrees are earning $55,000 and a Doctorate is good for $70,000. At the head of the class are those with a professional degree, earning more than $80,000 annually, BLS said.
"If you don`t have a college degree," Sargent said, "your best prospects are those jobs where you can get long-term, on-the-job training, such as in the construction trades, which will add 862,000 new jobs."
Nor do you need college degrees for many skilled craft occupations. Some of these occupations, and the numbers of new workers needed, are: retail worker supervisors, 168,000; restaurant cooks, 145,000; police and sheriff patrol officers, 141,000; and construction supervisors, 131,000.
Demand will also increase for electricians by 120,000; carpenters, 98,000; food preparation supervisors, 83,000; supervisors of mechanic installers and repairers, 71,000; and food service managers, 70,000.
Despite the fact some manufacturers export jobs abroad, foreign firms continue to locate plants here so overall demand for manufacturing workers is actually rising. In this decade, Sargent said, manufacturers will add 577,000 workers to their payrolls.
BLS also publishes an Occupational Outlook Handbook, perhaps the most widely known reference book on occupations and careers. This can be viewed on the Internet at http:/www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm .
Bureau Report