FOCUS ON CAREERS : Big Increase of Jobs Seen in Financial, Health Fields : But Projection to Year 2000 Finds Opportunities Will Decline in Forestry, Fishing and Agriculture
If you are planning a career as a stockbroker, go for it! Then again, if you dream of becoming a logger, you might want to think it over.
According to projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1988-2000, jobs in all financial services will increase by 55%, providing 7.8 million positions. But opportunities in forestry, fishing and agriculture will probably decline by about 200,000 jobs, or 5%, to 3.3 million.
If you are in the labor force at the turn of the century, you will be one of 141 million workers. Here’s what to expect, according to the bureau’s projections:
- Seven of the 10 fastest-growing occupations, on a percentage basis, will be health related. They are medical assistant, home health aide, radiology technician, medical records technician, medical secretary, physical therapist and surgical technologist. Health-services industries overall will provide 11.3 million jobs, including 3 million for registered and licensed practical nurses.
- As an industry, computer and data processing services will expand five times faster than the average for all industries but will provide only 1.2 million jobs.
- About 700,000 machine operators, fabricators and laborers will lose jobs--the greatest occupational growth change in the economy. However, the number of technical and managerial jobs in manufacturing will increase.
- Most rapid expansion--up 32%--will occur among technicians and related support occupations such as respiratory therapists, drafters, paralegals. About 1.2 million jobs will be created, half of them in the health field, for a total of 5.1 million positions.
- The three major categories requiring the most education will increase by 22% and provide a total of 38 million jobs. They are: executive, managerial and administrative; professional specialty occupations, such as engineers, schoolteachers, lawyers and judicial workers, and technicians and related support occupations.
- The greatest number of new jobs--22.9 million--will be for retail sales personnel such as maids, waiters and waitresses and top executives. Almost 23 million people will work in retail trades. Eating and drinking places will employ the most retail workers and rank among the fastest-growing industries.
- Public and private education will create 1.2 million jobs--teachers, aides, counselors, technicians and administrative staff--for a total of 6.2 million positions. But the college-age population will decrease, making opportunities scarcer in higher education than for elementary and secondary specialists.
Jerry Houser, director of USC’s Career Development Center, warns against choosing a career solely on the basis of projected demand.
“Find something you’re interested in,” he said. “If you love something that doesn’t seem promising at the moment--even a long shot like art or acting--make it part of your life and find another way of earning income that is enjoyable--or at least not painful. If you get some good skills, they’ll transfer anyway.”
More Jobs These are the occupations that are expected to have the largest numerical growth over the period from 1988 to the Year 2000.
Category Growth Retail Sales Personnel 730,000 Registered Nurses 613,000 Janitors 556,000 Waiters, Waitresses 551,000 Top executives 479,000 General office clerks 455,000 Business secretaries 385,000 Nursing aides 378,000 Truck drivers 369,000 Receptionists 331,000 Cashiers 304,000 Guards 256,000 Programmers 250,000 Food counter servers 240,000 Food preparation 234,000 Practical nurses 229,000 Teachers, high school 224,000 Computer analysts 214,000 Accountants, auditors 211,000 Elementary teachers 208,000
