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Employment Projections: 2019 to 2029

Moneyzine Editor
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Moneyzine Editor
4 mins
September 26th, 2023
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Every two years, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics updates their employment projections. The information appearing in this article was first published in September 2020, and includes job growth forecasts for the years 2019 through 2029.

This article is going to summarize some of the research conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in conjunction with the Department of Labor. The information includes several projections, including workforce demographics, job growth trends, education, training, and replacements.

Workforce Demographics

According to this latest release, the civilian labor force is expected to grow by 0.4% over a ten-year timeframe from 162.8 million to nearly 169 million individuals. This statistic includes all workers over the age of 16.

By 2029, all baby boomers will be at least 65 years old, contributing to slower projected growth in the labor force, as well as a continued decline in the labor force participation rate over the next ten years, since older people are less likely to participate in the labor force.

Employment Growth Hot Spots

Service-providing sectors will account for the majority of the jobs added by 2029. Of the 6.0 million jobs added to the economy, roughly half (3.1 million) will be in the healthcare and social assistance sectors. The increases seen in these sectors will result from greater demand for a variety of healthcare services as the American population continues to age and incidence of chronic disease continue to increase.

Top Ten Fastest Growing Occupations

This first table of information includes the ten fastest growing occupations in terms of numbers of jobs created.

Top Ten Occupations in Terms of New Jobs Created

OccupationThousands Of Jobs
Home health and personal care aides1,159.5
Cooks, restaurant327.3
Software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers316.0
Medical and health services managers133.2
Nurse practitioners110.7
Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors79.0
Animal caretakers68.8
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary52.1
Information security analysts40.9
Speech-language pathologists40.5

As the above table illustrates, the vast majority of new jobs will be in the personal care and home health aide occupations. While the above table shows how many new jobs will be created from 2019 through 2029, there's another way to look at these projections. The table below provides insights into the occupations that will experience the largest number of job openings. This includes both the growth in the number of new jobs, plus the openings created when an existing job is in need of a replacement due to employee turnover.

Top Ten Occupations in Terms of Job Openings Created

OccupationThousands of Openings
Fast food and counter workers826.6
Home health and personal care aides568.8
Retail salespersons568.1
Cashiers558.6
Waiters and waitresses475.7
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand380.6
Customer service representatives350.2
Office clerks, general317.5
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners305.6
Stockers and order fillers254.9

A third way to look at this employment information has to do with growth rates. Instead of defining a hot job as those positions with the largest number of openings, here it's defined as the percentage increase in the need for a particular job type. For example, by 2029, the data tells us there will be 60.7% more wind turbine service technicians workers than there were in 2019.

Top Ten Fastest Growing Occupations

OccupationIncrease over 10 Years
Wind turbine service technicians60.7%
Nurse practitioners52.4%
Solar photovoltaic installers50.5%
Statisticians34.6%
Occupational therapy assistants34.6%
Home health and personal care aides33.7%
Physical therapist assistants32.6%
Medical and health services managers31.5%
Physician assistants31.3%
Information security analysts31.2%

It's also important to understand the training or education required for the above occupations. Of the 6.0 million jobs that will be created from 2019 through 2029, 49.7% of them only require short-term on-the-job training. This is because many of these positions include cashier, waiter / waitress, and retail jobs.

New Jobs by Training Requirements

TrainingNew Jobs
Short-term on-the-job training49.71%
None30.04%
Moderate-term on-the-job training15.51%
Long-term on-the-job training2.56%
Apprenticeship1.55%
Internship/residency0.63%

Finally, as the table below demonstrates, over 35% of jobs only require a high school diploma. As would be expected, jobs that do not require a high school diploma are the lowest paying jobs, while those requiring a doctoral degree pay nearly $100,000 per year.

New Jobs by Education

EducationNew JobsMean Salary
Associate degree1.81%$58,525
Bachelor's degree17.32%$75,903
Doctoral or professional degree1.48%$97,200
High school diploma or equivalent37.68%$43,841
Master's degree1.37%$80,539
No formal educational credential32.31%$33,307
Postsecondary nondegree award5.82%$48,408
Some college, no degree2.21%$39,038

To gain a better understanding of how much any of the above mentioned jobs are worth; our article on the topic of high paying jobs contains salary information for hundreds of job types.


About the Author - Employment Projections: 2019 to 2029


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