Industry Employment Trends

During every economic period, whether it is a boom or a recession, there are inevitably winners and losers. For every dollar lost by one person, there is generally someone else making one. In the past few years, there have been industries which have suffered greatly while others have flourished. Economists and others rely upon industry employment trends to help them better visualize where jobs are being lost and created.

For students who are just starting college, taking a look at the latest trends can help them better determine a choice of major. Obviously the most practical choice is to study for a profession where the demand for jobs are increasing. And while these trends are likely to change over the years, examining decade long trends can give you a bigger picture of how our nation is heading in terms of industry growth. For example, some of the largest growing industries for the last decade have been the Internet, Healthcare, and Energy, while those that have shrunk the most include Retail, Telecommunications, and Construction.

Investors use industry employment trends to help them better decide where to put their money. While innovation can lead to greater efficiency with the need for less manpower, generally if there have been huge numbers of jobs lost within an industry then it isn’t good news. What this typically means are one of two things: either there is massive outsourcing of labor or the industry is simply shrinking. Either way, the trends reports help an investor to avoid those areas of the economy for which there is little potential of growth.

Governments primarily track these numbers as a way of helping to better predicts shift in the economy. These changes can affect how money is allocated to states and local governments, as well as determine if stimulus is required for a certain sector or industry.

With the expansion of globalism, competition will likely intensify in the future. Therefore, it is important for every person considering a career change or just starting out in college to understand on some basic level which industries are hot and which ones are not. The quickest way to ascertain this information is to look at a chart of industry employment trends. While not giving a complete view of the economy, it certainly separates the winning sectors from the losers. As such, it is an invaluable tool for those who require a better understanding of what is really happening to our economy.