New Workers Needed In These 5 Industries

Despite the home mortgage crisis and rising fears of a recession, the federal government predicts an overall growth in employment of 11 percent by 2016.

But the news is not good for everyone.

There are five job industries that the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts will soon see a significant drop in job growth. While the industries are varied, the culprits for all five are three main villains: an aging workforce, globalization and advancing technology.

Manufacturing

No American industry is expected to be hit harder in the coming years than manufacturing.

The manufacturing industry is extremely varied and covers everything from food, steel, printing, computer, machinery, pharmaceutical and aerospace manufacturing. While not every section of the manufacturing industry is expected to have a decline in employment, many are.

Textile manufacturing, in particular, is expected to see a 35 percent decline of its workforce over the next eight years.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Career Guide to Industries, “Jobs in textile, textile product, and apparel manufacturing will continue to become fewer as advances in manufacturing technology allow fewer workers to produce greater output, and because growing imports compete with domestically made textile and apparel products.”

Changing trade regulations is perhaps the biggest reason textile manufacturing employment is expected to decline.

The Career Guide to Industries (CGI) pointed out that “(because) the apparel manufacturing sector is labor intensive, it is especially vulnerable to import competition from nations in which workers receive lower wages.”

Quotas for textile products were lifted among members of the World Trade Organization in 2005, which included most U.S. trading partners.

“The other thing that plays into it, and this is especially true for the manufacturing sectors, is the idea of productivity improvements -- how many hours it takes to produce a given amount of output,” said Rose Woods of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “There’s been really fast productivity growth. We are able to get more and more output with less and less labor.”

Silver Lining

Despite the decline in employment, the CGI predicted that job prospects for skilled production workers, engineers, merchandisers, and designers should be decent. The CGI also pointed out that the U.S. is leading the world in discovering new fibers and uses for high-technology textiles.

Federal Government

That’s right. The federal government is predicting its own decline, at least in the area of employment.

In many respects, the feds have no one to blame but themselves.

“In general, over the coming decade, domestic programs are likely to see cuts in their budgets as Congress seeks to reduce the (federal) budget deficit, but the cuts will likely affect some agencies more than others,” the CGI said.

To cope with the budget cuts, the feds are expected to hand a lot of responsibilities and programs over to state and local governments.

Silver Lining

Because 58 percent of the federal work force will be eligible to retire by 2010, lots of job opportunities will be available for younger workers in the coming years.

According to the CGI, “While there will be job openings in all types of jobs over the coming decade, demand will continue to grow for specialized workers in areas related to border and transportation security, emergency preparedness, public health and information analysis.”

Agriculture

Agriculture is another industry that will be hit hard by the global economy and advances in technology.

According to the GGI, “Employment in agriculture, forestry, and fishing is projected to decline 8 percent over the 2006-2016 period. Rising costs, greater productivity, increasing urbanization and greater imports of food, lumber and fish will cause many workers to leave this industry.”

Silver Lining

Ethanol will continue grow in demand due to the rising price of petroleum.

Also, organic products, which are primarily grown on small and medium-sized farms, should see an increase in demand.

Utilities

An aging workforce is going to be a primary reason for the decline of utility jobs. The CGI expects almost half of the utility workforce will be nearing retirement age by 2016.

Utility companies may soon have to automate their systems to make up for the lack of manpower, negotiate part-time status with retirees and hire other employees from temp agencies.

Silver Lining

Because of the predicted loss of labor due to retirement, the CGI said that opportunities for educated and skilled workers will be “excellent” through 2016.

Mining

Mining is expected to have an annual employment decrease of .2 percent. Global demand for mined raw materials will increase but will be offset by technological gains that will require fewer workers.

“Essentially, it is all related to prices,” said Mike Wolf of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “We expect moderation of the prices of (mined goods), so we predict that employment will decline.”

Environmental concerns in the U.S. will also play a factor.

According to the CGI, “Restrictions on drilling in environmentally sensitive areas and other environmental constraints should continue to limit exploration and development, both onshore and offshore.”

Silver Lining

Despite the employment losses, the CGI said that opportunities in the industry for educated and younger workers should be “very good” because of the aging workforce.