Employment change by major occupational group, 2008-18

The two occupational groups that were the largest in 2008 are also projected to add the most new jobs to the U.S. economy over the 2008–18 period: professional and related occupations (5.2 million) and service occupations (4.1 million).

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Two occupational groups are projected to lose jobs, partly as a result of increasing worker productivity and an ongoing shift to a service-providing economy: production occupations (‑349,000) and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (‑9,000).

Professional and related occupations comprise workers in education, healthcare, science, information technology, and a variety of other jobs. Service occupations include such workers as cooks, home health care aides, flight attendants, child care workers, cosmetologists, and police and firefighters.

Most production occupations are found in manufacturing industries. Examples are machine tool operators, machinists, textile workers, and power plant operators. Examples of farming, fishing, and forestry occupations are farmworkers, fishing vessel captains, and logging equipment operators.

These projections are from the Employment Projections program. To learn more, see "Occupational Employment" in the Winter 2009–10 issue of the Occupational Outlook Quarterly (PDF).