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Top 10 Occupations with the Largest Job Growth (or why I fear for America)
I came across these figures today (provided by the US Department of Labor) on the top 10 fastest growing occupations in the United States between 2004 and 2014. They are:
- Home Health Aides -Â 56% increase
- Postsecondary Teacher - 32% increase
- Registered Nurses - 29% increase
- Customer Service Reps. - 23% increase
- Nursing Aides & Orderlies - 22% increase
- Janitors, Maids, & Housekeepers - 19% increase
- Retail Salesperson - 17%
- Waiters & Waitresses - 17%
- Food Prep & fast Food Workers - 17%
- General Management Positions - 17%
The only two positions on the list that require at least a bachelors degree are the Postsecondary Teacher (PhD) and the Manager. Where are the computer programmers, IT professionals, CPA’s, marketing consultants, teachers and engineers? This list scares me for a couple of reasons:
- It shows how aged our population has and is becoming
- It shows that our culture is too dependent upon fast foods
- It shows that our health care expenses will continue to skyrocket - look at the supply and demandÂ
- In general, it shows that we don’t have our priorities together
If we can’t start thinking about our competitiveness in the world then we will continue to slide to other countries that would love to eat our lunch like China and India. I guarantee that this list in China and India would not include fast food works and janitors.Â
Before Abraham Lincoln departed Illinois for the presidency he recalled this story:
A king sent his wise men out across the world to search for an undisputable truism that would withstand the test of time. They gathered back together and agreed on this one idea: this to shall pass away.
Abraham Lincoln then said, “Let us hope this is not true of America”.
We need to wake up before its too late or this will be true of America. Also, stay tuned for a post next week that will illustrate the above problem with some real numbers.
Chris,
This is a great post…you’ve nailed some real trends here. I’m looking forward to your other numbers. I’m surprised the PhDs are growing. I guess the answer to our problems are degrees, right? LOL
Neal
Left by Neal Harmon on 09/30/2006