Employment is expected to substantially increase by the end of the current decade, with the computer industry leading the way.
Eight of the top 10 fastest-growing jobs for the period of 2000 to 2010 are computer-related, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. These jobs commonly are referred to as “information technology occupations.”
Two of the top three jobs in the United States are branches of computer software engineering, the Web site said.
In addition, two of the top three “best” jobs also are computer related. The number one occupation is a Web site manager and number three is a computer systems analyst.
It is not surprising to see that the top jobs in the country are computer related. Computers have become cheaper and easier to use as the industry has progressed, said Dr. Donald H. Kraft, a professor of Computer Science at LSU.
Computers and the use of the World Wide Web have made it easier to look up information quickly, Kraft said.
One reason that the computer industry might be more popular than other jobs is that its jobs are not as restrictive as those in the legal or medical fields, which require licenses, Kraft said.
The Jobs Rated Almanac evaluates jobs and finds the “best” using six primary job criteria. The criteria from one to six are income, stress, physical demands, environment, outlook and security, respectively.
The job projected to be the fastest-declining in the United States during the current decade is a farmer or rancher, followed by other slow-growing jobs such as tellers, order and insurance claims clerks, sewing machine operators and dishwashers, according to the Department of Labor.
Employment has fallen in farming for different reasons. One possible explanation is that farming is a profession in which, if one does not grow up in a farming environment, they are not likely to become involved in farming, said John Westra, an assistant professor at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness.
Farming requires many long hours of hard work and can sometimes yield little to no reward. People looking for employment may find this unattractive, and thus not enter the field, Westra said.
There are approximately 100,000 fewer farms in Louisiana than there were in 1950, Westra said. Less than half of the total farms in the United States that existed in 1950 are here today.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, professional and service occupations will continue to have the most jobs in 2010, while farming and production occupations will have the lowest employment. Jobs requiring work-related training are projected to grow more slowly than average.
The Web site said the top industry with the fastest wage and salary employment growth will be computer and data processing services, followed by residential care and health services. These areas will see as much as a 100 percent increase in employment by 2010.
Employers are expected to increase the usage of temporary workers, and telecommuting will increase in popularity with employers and employees, according to The Society for Human Resource Management.
Labor union recruitment also is expected to start targeting nontraditional members such as women, doctors, welfare participants and immigrant workers, the SHRM said.
While these things are changing, wages are expected to remain constant. Wages will remain flat due to competition from immigrants and offshore labor used by U.S. companies, according to the SHRM.