Record low unemployment, technological advances, and a lack of skilled talent are making hiring extremely difficult for many employers. And because technology is evidently making our lives easier, this is enabling many employees to spend fewer hours at work and instead, spend more time doing things they enjoy. Which leaves many employers wondering: What will this mean for the future job market?
Artificial intelligence (AI) has already advanced into aiding financial, transportation, and energy management sectors. Although the benefits are apparent, they come hand-in-hand with fears that jobs which currently exist now, may not become part of our future workforce.
A recent study by the Pew Research Center revealed that 48% of Americans are somewhat worried that their job could be taken over by a robot and 25% are very worried at this prospect. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 3.7% as of October 2018, with the number of unemployed people in the U.S. equating to around 6.1 million.
As a result, training and qualification provider TheKnowledgeAcademy.com sought to uncover the future of the U.S. job market, through an analysis of findings from Glassdoor. The Knowledge Academy broke down the jobs expected to grow the most by 2026.
Growing Jobs
Unsurprisingly, The Knowledge Academy discovered that America will see a large growth for tech-related roles in nontech industries such as finance, consulting, and retail. However, many traditional jobs will undoubtedly rise through the ranks as technology continues to develop.
Interestingly, a surprising job sector that is set to soar with demand for new jobs created by 2026 is the healthcare sector which is predicted to generate more than 1.1 million new jobs. The Knowledge Academy revealed that the following sectors were also among the top five for expected growth in jobs and opportunities by 2026:
- Waiters, food service, and cooks (907,700 new jobs),
- Registered nurses (437,000 new jobs),
- Software developers (253,400 new jobs), and finally
- Janitors and cleaners with 233,000 predicted new jobs.
The following sectors are predicted to still showcase a sizeable growth in terms of new employment opportunities by 2026:
- Operations managers (205,900 new jobs),
- Medical assistants (184,600 new jobs),
- Nursing assistants (164,000 new jobs),
- Construction laborers (153,300 new jobs), and
- Accountants and auditors with 140,300 new roles.
Declining Jobs?
Unpredictably, despite the evolution of technology, it seems the demand for more traditional positions will not be disappearing anytime soon. However, The Knowledge Academy found that both marketing analysts and customer service representatives are predicted to have a growth of 136,000 new jobs. Thereafter, landscapers (123,300 new jobs), truck drivers (113,800), and finally maintenance and repair workers with 112,700 new opportunities were the job sectors in the U.S. predicted to showcase the lowest number of new jobs.
The infographic below further highlights this data.
