The latest employment figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed weak growth – with the least number of jobs added in a year and unemployment rising.
A breakdown of the new jobs by sector yields some clues as to where exactly still-elusive positions exist, and, by extension, which industries are faring better than others.
But for job seekers, of course, the latest numbers aren’t all that helpful. Monthly data can be variable. But more importantly, the new jobs have already been taken.
Instead, New Yorkers looking for work – including the legions of students preparing to enter or re-enter the work force – might benefit from a look at job growth projections.
In February, the BLS completed an exhaustive look at the decade ahead, analyzing employment trends nationwide. New York’s data isn’t quite at pace, but the state published a similar report in 2010, looking at 2008 to 2018.
That report states that the market is growing overall, and should continue at a decent pace over the next six years, with job losses in manufacturing and production and in administration offset by gains in the health and personal care sectors.
The bubble charts on the right visualize those job projections. The bubbles represent categories of professions. They are plotted across the chart based on the number of jobs in those professions in 2008. The bubbles at the top of the chart represent categories with the largest percentage increase, while those at the bottom (in red) show a decrease. The size of each bubble indicates the actual number of jobs that will be added or lost by 2018.
