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Aging America Creates Demand for Health-Care Workers
Reuters
February 02, 2012
The graying of America and a booming Hispanic population is driving
major changes in the structure of the U.S. workforce and the types of
jobs that will be available over the next decade, a new government
report shows.
Health care and
social assistance jobs will be the fastest-growing
sectors, accounting for one quarter of the 20.2 million new jobs the
economy is expected to generate by 2020.
Retiring baby boomers will help open up an additional 33.8 million
positions for total vacancies of 54 million, the Labor Department said
on Wednesday in its biannual Employment Outlook report for job growth
between 2010 and 2020.
During the recent recession, employment declined by 7.8 million jobs to
a total of 129.8 million in 2010. The report does not estimate by what
year those jobs will be replaced.
In addition, the workforce is getting older. Despite the retirement
surge, a slowdown in population growth means that the post-World War II
baby boomers will make up a quarter of all U.S. workers by 2020, up
from 19.5 percent today.
Hispanics, meanwhile, are joining the workforce at a fast pace. They
will represent 18.6 percent of overall employment by decade's end, up
from 14.8 percent today. In contrast, Asians and African-Americans will
see their share in the labor force rise by 1 percentage point or less
to 5.7 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
"The labor force is projected to get older, become racially and
ethnically more diverse and show a small increase in women as a share
of the total," the department said.
Professional and business services will be the second-fastest growing
industry, adding 3.8 million positions.
It will be
followed by construction, although the 1.8 million new construction
jobs will not bring employment in the industry back to levels seen
during the housing boom.
Skills divide
The report also
spelled out the skills workers of the future will need.
Two thirds of the total job openings will require only a high-school
education or less, it said. For example, there will be roughly 70
percent growth in personal care aides and health-care support
employment, the fastest-growing occupations. No high school diploma
would be required, and workers would get short, on-the-job training.
At the same
time, demand for people with master's degrees will increase by 21.7
percent, the Labor Department said.
The
manufacturing sector and the federal government will both lose jobs
over the next decade.
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