In an article appearing this past week in Forbes entitled “Jobs Outlook 2012: Careers Headed For The Dustbin (by Jenna Goudrea),“ a number of interesting findings are presented that should be of particular interest to anyone currently looking for work, or planning to pursue a new job or career at any point during 2012. Most notably pointed out perhaps are the 20 fastest-declining jobs through 2020: agricultural, production, and administrative support occupations:
“The biggest projected losers are farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers. The occupation tops the list with an expected decline of 96,100 jobs, or 8%, by 2020.”
These jobs along with “unskilled manufacturing jobs that require little to no education are also being displaced to other parts of the globe. Sewing machine operators (No. 3) are projected to decline by 42,100 jobs, or 26%. Meanwhile, electrical and electronic equipment assemblers (No. 11) will fall by 6% and prepress technicians and workers (No. 13) by 16%.”
Ms. Goudrea goes on to mention other sectors affected, including the federal government’s postal service arm that is expected to lose 182,000 jobs. She notes that Mail Sorters could be cut by 50%.
“Office and administrative workers will also be hit hard in the coming years. Technology advances have enabled modern professionals to take charge of their own typing, filing and phone calls. Thus, switchboard operators (No. 4) will decrease by 23%, data entry keyers (No. 7) by 7%, word processors and typists (No. 8) by 12%, and file clerks (No. 12) by 5%”
“Most of the 20 disappearing jobs—including yet unmentioned fast food cooks (No. 5), door-to-door salespeople (No. 9) and florists (No. 18)—require only a high school degree or its equivalent.”
By now it is should be apparent that a common thread present is the loss of unskilled jobs requiring low education and the loss of jobs due to advances in technology. Well if you are reading between the lines , by now you should be able to guess one industry that will be on the upswing: Education. Ms. Goudrea notes that “jobs needing a master’s degree projected to increase by 22%, a doctoral or professional degree by 20%, and associate’s degree by 18%.” What this should suggest to you is that if you don’t have the necessary education or specialized skills to be a competitive candidate, you may want to explore that possibility. But also keep in mind that there are plenty of highly educated people who have either been let go, or who are on the verge of facing layoffs. Be wise in the specific higher education you pursue.
Okay, so what industries are going to be moving upward? According the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, health care services, personal care and social assistance, and construction will experience the fastest growth through 2020. Anything technology or service related will be on the rise as well.
What does this mean to you? Well for starters, if you are a college student with an undecided major, these fields would be worth looking into. If you are a displaced worker, it may make sense to explore continued education or training, especially if you were previously employed in any of the sharply declining fields pointed out in the article. To me it even makes sense for someone as young as a high school student to be aware of the economic and job trends for the coming decade in order to plan now for a career in a flourishing field.
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