The list below shows the expected job growth for various white-collar professions through the end of the decade, as projected by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Projected job growth, by profession, 2000 to 2010
Computer software engineers 95%
Computer support specialists and systems administrators 92%
Desktop publishers 67%
Systems analysts, computer scientists, and database administrators 62%
Medical records and health information technicians 49%
Public relations specialists 36%
Advertising, marketing, promotions, and sales managers 32%
Biomedical engineers 31%
Financial analysts and personal financial advisers 29%
Management analysts 29%
Environmental engineers 26%
Television, video, and film camera operators and editors 26%
Computer hardware engineers 25%
Economists and market and survey researchers 25%
Environmental scientists and geoscientists 21%
Industrial designers 21%
The list below shows which cities are projected to add the most jobs next year.
Net gain in jobs, by metropolitan area, 2003
Los Angeles 94,800
Washington 86,700
Boston 83,800
Atlanta 69,800
Houston 69,400
Chicago 68,600
Phoenix 61,200
Dallas 57,700
New York 51,000
Detroit 43,000
How the Total Experienced Professional Population Breaks Down
Currently "between jobs" (unemployed), seeking employment 2%
Currently employed, seeking new employment 9%
Currently employed, open to accepting a new position in the next six months 36%
Happily employed, not open to accepting a new position in the next six months 53%
Base: experienced professionals (n=3371)
Occupations with the greatest retiree replacement needs, projected 1998-2008
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2008, 40 percent of the workforce will be aged 45 and older (baby boomers). Occupations with the greatest proportion of people 45 years old or older are expected to have the greatest need to replace workers who retire from now through 2008. The top ten occupations expected to be most affected by retirees are listed below with projected retirement replacement needs. The bureau notes that education occupations are particularly likely to have large numbers of retirements because workers in public education are covered by pensions that allow retirement at age 55 if a required number of years of service has been reached.
Occupation Retiree replacement needs, projected 1998-2008 (thousands)
Secretaries 519
Truck Drivers, heavy 425
Teachers, elementary school 418
Janitors and cleaners 408
Teachers, secondary school 378
Registered nurses 331
Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks 330
Teachers, college and university 195
Administrators, education and related fields 178
Farmers, except horticulture 175
Employment Facts about People with Disabilities in the United States
(Provided by the World Institute on Disability)
Among adults with disabilities of working age (18 to 64), three out of ten (32%) work full or part-time, compared to eight out of ten (81%) of those without disabilities--a gap of forty-nine percentage points (N.O.D./Harris, 2000).
The more severe the disability, the less likely a person is to be employed. People with slight disabilities are 8 times more likely to be employed than people with very severe disabilities (64% versus 8% respectively (N.O.D./Harris, 2000).
Over the past fourteen years, the percentage of people who say they are unable to work has risen steadily from 29% to 43%. When looking at only the people who say they are able to work, 56% of people with disabilities are working, up from 46% in 1986, and the gap between people with and without disabilities declines from 49 percentage points to 25 percentage points (N.O.D./Harris 2000).
The occupations that currently account for 25% of all jobs for people with disabilities are: executive and administrative, machine operators, food preparations and service jobs, and sales workers (Stoddard, Jans, Ripple, Kraus, 1998). They are most unlikely employed as: teachers, physicians/dentists, computer programmers, police, or firefighters (Packaged Facts, 1997).
The ten occupations with the projected largest job growth for disabled people are: systems analysts, retail salespersons, cashiers, general managers and top executives, truck drivers, general office clerks, registered nurses, computer support specialists, personal care and home health aides, and teacher assistants (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 1999).
Small businesses (less than 500 employees) represent over 99% of all employers, employ 52% of all workers, and provide virtually all of the net new jobs (Small Business Administration, 1999). People with disabilities are twice as likely to be self-employed as the general population; 14.7 percent compared to eight percent (Thornton and Lunt, 1997).
The total federal workforce is declining, but the number of disabled people employed within it is rising (Thornton and Lunt, 1997).
More than half of employed adults with disabilities report they found their jobs through personal contact (Thornton and Lunt, 1997).
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics (1999), New 1998-2008 Employment Projections
Disability Statistics Center, (1997) 'How does disability vary with age in the U.S.?
National Organization on Disability/Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. (N.O.D./Harris) (2000) 2000 N.O.D./Harris Survey of Americans With Disabilities
Packaged Facts (1997) Marketing to Americans With Disabilities
Recruitment Marketing Strategies:Building Employer Brands That Attract Talent©2000 WetFeet.com
Small Business Administration (1999)
Stoddard, S., Jans, L., Ripple, J. and Kraus, L. (1998). 'What occupations are held by people with a work disability who are employed?' Chartbook on Work and Disability in the United States, 1998 An InfoUse Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
Thornton, P and Lunt, N (1997) 'Employment Policies for Disabled Persons in Eighteen Countries: A review' 'United States', A University of New York, Social Research Unit paper, Ottawa, Can.: Global Applied Disability Research and Information Network on Employment and Training (GLADNET) Research (NIDRR)
