OTHER IMPORTANT INSIGHTS

Additional jobs expected to grow faster than the average are executive, administrative, and managerial positions; technicians and related technical support professionals; marketing and sales jobs. The area of administrative support, which includes those hardworking clericals, will grow more slowly than most other jobs and a bit slower than in the past. This projection reflects the power of office automation. Yet the point to be noted here is that support staff jobs will, indeed, grow. If you’re employed or looking for a job in precision production, craft, or repair work, or as an operator, fabricator or laborer, these jobs also will grow more slowly, reflecting not only the new technology but also changes in production methods and the overall decline in manufacturing.

MORE JOBS
Here are some more fields predicted to need new workers in the coming decade:

Amusement and recreational services.

Computer and data processing services.

Day care services.

Electronic computing equipment.

Human resources management (this is good news because these are the folks who do the hiring).

Management consulting services.

Medical instruments and supplies.

Miscellaneous electronic components.

Office furniture and fixtures.

Offices of physicians and osteopaths.

Oil and gas field services.

Optical and ophthalmic products.

Outpatient health services and facilities.

Partitions and fixtures.

Pharmaceuticals.

Radio and television communications equipment.

Residential care.

Semiconductors and related devices.

Telephone apparatus.

Temporary personnel services.

X-ray and other electro-medical equipment.
And there’s still more: The U.S. Department of Labor emphasizes there will be hearty growth for the following jobs:

Cardiology technicians.

Dental assistants.

Dental hygienists.

Engineering.

Mathematical and natural science managers (yes, managers still are needed).

Medical records technicians.

Respiratory therapists.

Sales agents.

Securities, commodities, and financial service professionals (yes, there will be a stock market).

Surgical technicians and technologists.

OFFICIAL BUT ENCOURAGING PREDICTIONS
The government isn’t the only entity carefully eyeing job opportunities. Economists, academicians, career consultants, and even Jobs columnists like me have their own ideas of what’s out there. Though traditionally these groups disagree with one another and even themselves, some truths about today’s job market are self-evident: Talented people still are needed in every profession, field, and job. Now is the time for employers to hire from the cream of the crop. A study by Charles R. Greer, associate dean for graduate programs at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, suggests the payoff for hiring in an uncertain labor market is high. Despite the fact that massive layoffs still are occurring in certain industries—I’ll get to the bad news later—Dr. Greer notes that “companies that go against the grain and hire key managers and professionals during economic turndowns do better financially two years after the turndown.” The reason: They have acquired high-quality talent. Though the rate of job growth has slowed, industries that are “immune”—a word I really like to see and hear—to the current economic turndown, according to The New York Times, are health care, pharmaceuticals, education, mortgage banking, and security. And most of the current vacancies are in entrylevel jobs. As more and more retirement packages are offered and accepted, companies already are “starting to do selective hiring to fill in the holes,” according to Jeffrey E. Christian, chairman and CEO of Christian & Timbers, an executive search firm based in Cleveland. The exit of older workers is especially evident among construction inspectors, secondary school teachers, and computing engineers, and finding qualified workers is a top priority.

Note the variety of these projections: One of them surely holds a job for you. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, there are a few bright stars shining from East to West. Though employers hired 36 percent fewer new college graduates in 2001–2002 than they hired the previous year (the year before the start of the recession and the terrorist attacks), the good news, says Camille Luckenbaugh of the association, is that “government and nonprofit organizations project a 20.5 percent increase in college hiring.” Traditional service workers such as hairstylists, cooks, and automotive mechanics will still be in demand, as anyone who needs a haircut, gets hungry at least three times a day, or owns a car can attest to.

THE WAR ECONOMY
Terrorism took on a whole new meaning after September 11 and had an immediate and direct effect on what was already a slowing labor market. But in the aftermath of the attacks, new demands created new opportunities that today shape employment hopes for many job seekers. While I firmly believe that good does not come out of evil, the fact remains that workers are needed to be part of the massive effort to defeat terrorists, protect American lives, and make sure daily life proceeds as normally as possible. That’s why jobs now are plentiful in the defense industry, which needs people with degrees in mathematics, engineering, physical science, and business as well as software engineers and financial analysts (to figure out all the new contracts, most of them with the federal government). The federal General Accounting Office (GAO) has announced that it is worried about retirements in the next few years of 45 percent of workers in the Departments of Defense, State, and Transportation, and in

Job hunting is a numbers game, so make sure you know the numbers. the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The GAO is so concerned that it even has suggested better pay and benefits, more active recruitment of young people, and cutting through the nightmare of red tape involved in hiring more personnel. A quickly growing area (and some security-conscious people, particularly frequent fliers and workers such as flight attendants and pilots in the travel industry, wish it would grow even faster) is air safety. Late in 2001, an aviation security bill was passed authorizing the hiring and training of 28,000 new federal employees to screen passengers and baggage at all airports. Though the jobs are challenging and admittedly have an element of danger in them, if you’re qualified now is the time to apply for one of these jobs because they include generous federal benefits and decent salaries for what used to be jobs with no status, no future, and high turnover. Screeners with private companies, for instance, who were paid on average $15,000 a year (if they lasted that long) are now being offered $30,000 to $35,000 annually. The new law federalizing airport security is for three years only. Air marshals, too, will see an increase in job opportunities and salaries. And on the ground, hundreds of jobs now are open for firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical technicians. And what surprises me most of all are the numbers of people seeking and finding jobs at U.S. post offices, despite the bone-chilling anthrax scare. For instance, the U.S. Postal Service hired as many as 40,000 new workers for the Christmas season of 2001 and continues to hire. And, in both the public and private sectors, computer experts who can counter cyberterrorism are having an easy time finding jobs. Additionally, bioterrorism has created an ongoing demand for medical researchers, chemists, physicians specializing in virulent diseases, and forensic specialists.

Though most experts label health care, education, and social work as “caring” professions—which they are—I add to that list security and safety personnel.

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