Many of the 25 jobs that are projected to have the most openings over the next 8 years also pay low wages, according to data from CareerOneStop, which is sponsored by the U. S. Department of Labor.
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Here are the 25 jobs that CareerOneStop projects will have the most openings from 2008 until 2018. The estimate for job openings includes both turnover that results from people who leave the occupation (e.g. quit, retire) and new jobs that are created.
|
Occupation |
2008 Employment |
Openings |
1 |
Cashiers |
3,550,000 |
171,990 |
2 |
Retail salespersons |
4,489,200 |
162,690 |
3 |
Waiters and waitresses |
2,381,700 |
146,620 |
4 |
Customer service representatives |
2,252,400 |
110,840 |
5 |
Registered nurses |
2,618,700 |
103,900 |
6 |
Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food |
2,701,700 |
96,720 |
7 |
Office clerks, general |
3,024,400 |
77,090 |
8 |
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand |
2,317,300 |
74,580 |
9 |
Elementary school teachers, except special education |
1,549,500 |
59,650 |
10 |
Stock clerks and order fillers |
1,858,800 |
56,260 |
11 |
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer |
1,798,400 |
55,460 |
12 |
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners |
2,375,300 |
55,300 |
13 |
Postsecondary teachers |
1,699,200 |
55,290 |
14 |
Home health aides |
921,700 |
55,270 |
15 |
Child care workers |
1,301,900 |
52,310 |
16 |
General and operations managers |
1,733,100 |
50,220 |
17 |
Accountants and auditors |
1,290,600 |
49,750 |
18 |
First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers |
1,457,200 |
48,900 |
19 |
Receptionists and information clerks |
1,139,200 |
48,020 |
20 |
Personal and home care aides |
817,200 |
47,780 |
21 |
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks |
2,063,800 |
46,040 |
22 |
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products |
1,540,300 |
45,790 |
23 |
First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers |
1,685,500 |
45,010 |
24 |
Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop |
525,400 |
43,490 |
25 |
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants | 1,469,800 |
42,230 |
The average pay for 10 of those occupations was less than
$21,550 in 2008:
- Cashiers
- Retail salespersons
- Waiters and waitresses
- Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food
- Stock clerks and order fillers
- Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners
- Home health aides
- Child care workers
- Personal and home care aides
- Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop
Five of those occupations averaged from
$21,790 to $32,380 in earnings in 2008:
- Customer service representatives
- Office clerks, general
- Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
- Receptionists and information clerks
- Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants
Only 4 of those 25 jobs with the most openings had earnings greater than $51,580 in 2008:
- Registered nurses
- Postsecondary teachers
- General and operations managers
- Accountants and auditors
The remaining 6 occupations had an average earnings between
$32,930 to $51,450.