BLS: Job growth will be slower in the 2018-2028 decade

Dive Brief:

Employment is projected to grow during the 2018-2028 decade by 8.4 million to 169.4 million jobs, for an annual growth rate of 0.5%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. The annual growth rate predicted for the next decade lags slightly behind the previous decade's (2008-2018) 0.8% rate.
Driving much of the change in the next decade will be older workers remaining in the labor force longer, an overall decline in labor force participation and continued job growth in the healthcare industry, said BLS.
The top five fastest-growing jobs for the next decade are projected to be solar photovoltaic installers, wind turbine service technicians, home health aides, personal care aides and occupational therapy assistants. BLS said that although the energy-renewal jobs are showing the fastest growth in the next decade, these occupations are projected to yield only 6,100 and 3,800 new jobs, respectively.

Dive Insight:

Healthcare continues to provide the most in-demand jobs; BLS reported that, of the 30 fastest growing occupations, 18 come from the healthcare industry. According to a CareerCast report, the industry could bring in an excess of 2 million new jobs in the next six years.

Manufacturing, however, is struggling to fill jobs. The industry reported having more than 400,000 job openings last February, according to National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons. Over the next decade, manufacturing will need to fill more than 4 million jobs. SCORE released data in May showing that 90% of manufacturers can't fill all available jobs. The consumer goods and retail industries also saw drops in a decline in hiring this year of 8% each, according to Reboot Digital Marketing's analysis in LinkedIn's March 2019 Workforce Report. This decline was greater than the average hiring decrease across industries of 2.9%.

Automation is impacting the labor market now and will likely impact it even more during the next decade. Organizations will need to prepare for the change; a Willis Towers Watson survey found that only 14% of respondents have a digital transformation plan to meet the challenge. HR will need to prepare the workforce for the transition.