Executive, Administrative, And Managerial Occupations:
Employment in this cluster is expected to increase considerably. Growth will be spurred by the increasing complexity of business operations and by large employment gains in trade and services - industries that employ a higher than average proportion of managers.
Employment in management-related occupations tends to be tied to industry growth. Thus jobs for employment interviewers are projected to grow much faster than the average, in line with the expected growth in the personnel supply industry.
Hiring requirements in many managerial and administrative jobs are rising. Work experience, specialized training, or graduate study will be increasingly necessary. Familiarity with computers is a "must" in a growing number of firms, due to the widespread use of computerized management information systems.
Professional Specialty Occupations:
Employment in this cluster is also expected to show substantial growth, which will also result in more jobs available in this group. Much of this growth is a result of rising demand for engineers; computer specialists; lawyers; health diagnosing and treating occupations; and preschool and elementary and secondary school teachers.
Technicians And Related Support Occupations:
Workers in this group provide technical assistance to engineers, scientists, and other professional workers as well as operate and program technical equipment. Employment in this cluster is expected to increase significantly, making it the fastest growing in the economy. It also contains the fastest growing occupation-paralegals. Employment of paralegals is expected to skyrocket due to increased utilization of these workers in the rapidly expanding legal services industry.
Marketing And Sales Occupations:
Employment in this large cluster is projected to increase with the demand for real estate brokers, travel agents, and securities and financial services sales workers expected to grow much faster than the average due to strong growth in the industries that employ them. Many part and full-time job openings are expected for retail sales workers and cashiers due to the large size, high turnover, and faster than average employment growth in these occupations. The outlook for higher paying sales jobs, however, will tend to be more competitive.
Administrative Support Occupations, Including Clerical:
This is the largest major occupational group. Workers in these occupations perform the wide variety of tasks necessary to keep organizations functioning smoothly. The group as a whole is expected to grow, but at a lesser rate than the earlier groups. Moreover, technological advances are projected to substantially decrease the demand for stenographers and typists, word processors, and data entry keyers. Others, such as receptionists and information clerks, will grow much faster than the average, spurred by rapidly expanding industries such as business services. Moreover, because of their large size and substantial turnover, clerical occupations will offer abundant opportunities for qualified jobseekers in the years ahead.
Service Occupations:
This group includes a wide range of workers in protective services who are involved in food and beverage preparation and cleaning and personal services. These occupations are expected to grow because a growing population and economy, combined with higher incomes and increased leisure time, will spur demand for all types of services.
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Occupations:
Workers in these occupations cultivate plants, breed and raise animals, and catch fish. Although demand for food, fiber, and wood is expected to increase as the world's population grows, the use of more productive farming and forestry methods and the consolidation of smaller farms are expected to result in a slight decline in employment and the number of jobs available will be fewer in this cluster.
Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers:
These workers adjust, maintain, and repair automobiles, industrial equipment, computers, and many other types of equipment. Overall employment in these occupations is expected to grow, even though not substantially due to increased use of mechanical and electronic equipment. One of the fastest growing occupations in this group is expected to be automotive body repairers, reflecting the growth in the number of lightweight cars that are prone to collision damage. Telephone installers and repairers, in sharp contrast, are expected to record a decline in employment due to laborsaving advances.
Construction Trades And Extractive Occupations:
Overall employment in this group of occupations is expected to rise and virtually all of the new jobs will be in construction. Employment growth in construction will be spurred by new projects and alterations to existing structures. On the other hand, continued stagnation in the oil and gas industries and low growth in demand for coal, metal, and other materials will result in little change in the employment of extractive workers.
Production Occupations:
Workers in these occupations set up, install, adjust, operate, and tend machinery and equipment and use hand tools and hand-held power tools to fabricate and assemble products. However, employment in this cluster is expected to decline as more efficient production techniques-such as computer-aided manufacturing and industrial robotics-will eliminate some production worker jobs. Many production occupations are sensitive to fluctuations in the business cycle and competition from imports.
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations:
Workers in this cluster operate the equipment used to move people and equipment. Employment of bus drivers and truck drivers will grow as fast as the average, while employment of material moving equipment operators is expected to grow more slowly due to greater use of automated materials handling equipment in factories and warehouses. Railroad transportation workers and water transportation workers are projected to show a decline in employment.
Handlers, Equipment Cleaners, Helpers, and Laborers:
Workers in this group assist skilled workers and perform routine, unskilled tasks. However, employment is expected to increase only marginally, as with the advance of technology, many routine tasks are automated.
Job seekers should evaluate their areas of interest, their expertise and their qualifications and see which cluster is right for them. There are scores of occupations available under each cluster. Even if the growth in any particular cluster is projected to grow slowly or even decline, opening will continue to exist, as workers retire and vacancies are created by their departure. Hence, every single cluster, irrespective of the projections has potential for employment and weak projection figures do not mean that you should not consider jobs within that cluster.
