Jobs in Next Decade

Happy New Year Everyone!

NPR fans have probably already heard it, but John Ydstie had a great 5-minute piece on Morning Edition on Monday, January 4th, 2010 about where the jobs will be in the next 10 years. The story includes sobering input from Harvard labor economist Lawrence Katz that the nation is “in a very deep hole” with regard to the labor market. Katz predicts that it will take 5+ years just to gain back the jobs that we’ve lost during this recession. Then, when the jobs do come back, they are expected to concentrate in the highest and lowest paying sectors, with middle-income jobs shrinking.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the top 10 occupations that are expected to grow the fastest in the next decade, with 6 of the top 7 being low-skill/wage jobs:
1. registered nurses
2. home health aides
3. customer service representatives
4. food prep and serving workers
5. personal and home care aides
6. retail salespersons
7. office clerks
8. accountants
9. nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants
10. postsecondary teachers

Though these predictions are a little grim given UWMC’s goal to “increase the number of lower-income households earning, accessing, and managing an adequate income”, Katz suggests that there are opportunities to “move these jobs up the skills ladder” to increase their value and compensation.

Anyway, it’s worth checking out and here is the link to the webcast, as well as the written article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122123729

Annette Charles

UWMC Director of Community Investment-Income, with 9 years of domestic experience in outreach, planning, policy analysis, and implementation of community development, housing and human service initiatives.