US Employment Projections suggest that healthcare occupations and industries are expected to have the fastest employment growthand to add the most jobs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
Employment is projected to increase by 8.3 million jobs from 2021 to 2031. The U.S. economy is projected to add 8.3 million jobs from 2021 to 2031, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Total employment is projected to increase from 158.1 million to 166.5 million and grow 0.5 percent annually, which is slower than the 1.0 percent annual growth recorded over the 2011-21 decade.
The 2021-31 projections use 2021 annual average employment levels as the base year. The 2021 annual average levels do not reflect much of the employment recovery and reallocation that has already occurred in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying recession, given total employment continued to grow rapidly through the first half of 2022.
As a result, total employment for the 2021-31 projections, and projected growth in many sectors, reflects fast projected growth resulting from low base year employment levels. However, the pandemic also has been a catalyst for some structural changes in demand for certain goods and services, which are expected to affect long-term demand for employment in a select group of industries and occupations.
The leisure and hospitality sector is projected to experience the fastest employment growth of all sectors, owing mostly to the low base point in 2021. The healthcare and social assistance sector is projected to create the most jobs over the 2021-31 decade, growing in tandem with the segment of the population that is aged 65 and over.
This should, in turn, boost demand for various healthcare occupations, especially those involved in caring for the elderly and those expected to benefit from the increased prevalence of team-based healthcare.
Total projected employment growth is conditional upon expected growth of the economy and of the labor force, both of which can be influenced by changes in the population. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to grow at a 2.1 percent annual rate from 2021 to 2031, slightly faster than in the prior decade.
Growth of the civilian noninstitutional population is projected to slow to an annual rate of 0.7 percent, while the labor force is projected to grow at a 0.5 percent annual rate, about the same pace as that of the 2011-21 decade.
Article based on information from the following source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more details, and in depth analysis, please visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
