The U.S. is Expected to Add Nearly 8 Million Jobs Over the Next Five Years, But Middle-Wage Employment Will Continue to Fall Behind, CareerBuilder Study Finds

- CareerBuilder releases list of the fastest-growing and fastest-declining jobs from 2017 to 2022

- Low-wage jobs are likely to grow the fastest while middle-wage jobs will account for half of the job loss in the country

News provided by

CareerBuilder

Aug 04, 2017, 05:00 ET

CHICAGO AND ATLANTA, Aug. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on extensive analysis of historical and current labor market trends, CareerBuilder is projecting that 8,194,220 jobs will be added in the U.S. from 2017 to 2022 while 302,930 will be lost – for a net total of 7,891,290 new jobs over this time period (or 5 percent growth). While job growth is expected across pay levels, the study shows that middle-wage workers will likely take the brunt of the job loss and see job creation continue to lag behind other wage categories.

Key Findings:

STEM-related jobs (science, technology, engineering and math) continue to dominate the list of fastest-growing professions while segments of manufacturing and construction will keep experiencing declines.
Low-wage employment is expected to have the highest net growth from 2017 to 2022 with 2,966,358 jobs added or a 5.57 percent increase. High-wage employment will grow 5.14 percent (2,735,885 jobs) while middle-wage employment will grow 4.1 percent (2,189,047).
Around half (49 percent or 148,012) of the 302,930 jobs that will be lost between 2017 to 2022 are middle-wage, twice the amount anticipated for high-wage and low-wage categories. High-wage occupations are expected to lose 79,825 jobs or 26 percent of the total job loss in the U.S. Low-wage occupations are expected to lose 75,093 jobs or 25 percent of the total job loss in the U.S.

For the purpose of this study, CareerBuilder and its labor market analysis arm Emsi defined low-wage jobs as those that pay $14.24 or less per hour; middle-wage jobs as $14.25-$23.23 per hour; and high-wage as $23.24 or more per hour. The research focused on the 785 occupations classified by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and included data for workers who are employed with organizations as well as those who are self-employed.

"Middle-wage workers are at the greatest risk for displacement especially as rapid advancements in technology reshape labor requirements," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and co-author of The Talent Equation. "Their only choices are adopting new skills for a higher-paying job, being underemployed in a lower-skill job or leaving the workforce altogether. Either of the latter options will result in less spending, less investing and significant economic challenges. If we want to adequately prepare our labor force, we need to dramatically increase efforts to re-skill and up-skill workers today."

Fastest-Growing Jobs Across Wage Categories
Looking at occupations that are projected to add 20,000 jobs or more from 2017 to 2022, the following are those that will grow the fastest:

Occupation	2017 jobs	2022 jobs	Jobs Added 2017 to 2022	2017 to 2022 % Change	Median Hourly Earnings
Personal Care Aides	2,008,531	2,339,769	331,238	16%	$10.89
Home Health Aides	1,013,137	1,178,352	165,215	16%	$11.25
Web Developers	177,110	202,855	25,745	15%	$30.75
Nurse Practitioners	150,044	171,123	21,079	14%	$50.14
Physical Therapists	233,420	261,573	28,152	12%	$41.57
Industrial Machinery Mechanics	346,418	386,926	40,508	12%	$24.65
Computer Systems Analysts	616,296	687,511	71,215	12%	$43.04
Software Developers, Applications	821,693	915,772	94,080	11%	$50.03
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	572,386	635,200	62,814	11%	$31.52
Personal Financial Advisors	258,216	285,099	26,882	10%	$43.87

Fastest-Declining Jobs Across Wage Categories
Looking at occupations that are projected to lose 5,000 jobs or more from 2017 to 2022, the following are those that will decline the fastest:

Occupation	2017 jobs	2022 jobs	Jobs Lost 2017 to 2022	2017 to 2022 % Change	Median Hourly Earnings
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service	101,294	89,751	(11,542)	(11%)	$13.23
Door to Door Sales, News and Street Vendors and Related Workers	75,297	67,435	(7,863)	(10%)	$10.25
Printing Press Operators	173,754	165,857	(7,897)	(5%)	$17.22
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders	133,711	127,773	(5,939)	(4%)	$14.27
Cutting, Punching and Press Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders	190,134	182,368	(7,766)	(4%)	$15.30
Sewing Machine Operators	155,204	148,875	(6,330)	(4%)	$11.38
Tellers	500,188	481,234	(18,955)	(4%)	$12.56
Construction Managers	361,317	349,077	(12,240)	(3%)	$34.25
Cooks, Fast Food	539,776	531,022	(8,755)	(2%)	$9.67
Bookkeeping, Accounting and Auditing Clerks	1,757,866	1,736,082	(21,784)	(1%)	$18.23

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is a global, end-to-end human capital solutions company focused on helping employers find, hire and manage great talent. Combining advertising, software and services, CareerBuilder leads the industry in recruiting solutions, employment screening and human capital management. It also operates top job sites around the world. CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

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SOURCE CareerBuilder