CareerBuilder

Where the Jobs Are -- 2005

Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com

What's in store for the millions of professionals – new and old – who will be putting on their job searching hats in 2005? Will unemployment rates remain around the current 5 percent range? Will employment numbers continue to trend upward, as they have during the past several months? Many sources note the job market landscape will continue to improve in a number of areas. Here's what some of the experts are saying:

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), education, health services and professional and business services represent the industry divisions with the strongest projected employment from now until 2012. These industries are projected to grow twice as fast as the overall economy. Information technology, leisure and hospitality, and transportation and warehousing are also projected to grow faster than average. Other rapidly growing industries and occupations are medical occupations such as medical assistants, physician assistants, home health aides, medical records and health information technicians. Engineers, particularly environmental engineers; and computer-related positions such as software engineers, network systems and data communications analysts, database administrators and information systems managers are also expected to outpace other industry professions.

John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., offers the following breakdown of which sectors and types of positions are hot and which are not.  

What's Hot:
-Healthcare -- nurses, radiology technicians, finance administrators
-Construction -- carpenters, electricians, contractors
-Manufacturing -- machine tool specialists, welders, machinists
-Tech services -- tech support, network administrators, security specialists
-Education -- teachers, child care workers, administrators

What's Not:
-Automotive -- manufacturing and sales
-Travel -- airlines, travel agents
-Telemarketing
-Apparel
-Computer, telecommunications -- manufacturing, sales

CareerBuilder.com spokesperson Jennifer Sullivan notes, "CareerBuilder.com saw more than a 50 percent increase in job postings over last year. We continue to see strong demand in areas such as healthcare, sales and professional and business Services." CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online employment network.

Jim McSherry, managing director of McSherry & Associates 2, Inc., a second generation family-owned retained executive search practice in Oakbrook, Ill., says that his firm's clients continue to seek top-notch sales and business development candidates to help grow their top line. "When times are rough, as they've been for the past few years, companies are looking for talented individuals to grow their business and increase revenue." His firm, like many others who are hired to fill top level finance positions, has also seen plenty of interest from companies looking to fill auditor positions and seeking candidates with financial expertise and understanding of corporate governance and new regulatory reporting and compliance requirements associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Opportunities for College Grads
The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), says 2005 should shape up to be a very good year. In a survey conducted by NACE of the organization's member companies, NACE found that employers expect to hire 13.1 percent more new college graduates in 2004-05 than they hired in 2003-04. While the full results of the survey have not yet been released, the outlook is positive for those individuals who will be entering the workforce in 2005.

"We found that all the sectors are planning on increasing their hiring," said Andrea Koncz, employment information manager for NACE. "Next year is looking good." Koncz says that one of the most positive pieces of information coming from the NACE survey is the finding that manufacturers plan to increase their hiring significantly more than last year. While manufacturers projected a 3.4 percent increase in 2003-04, this year they are projecting an increase of 12.9 percent.

According to NACE's Job Outlook 2005 Fall Preview Survey, more than 61 percent of employers are expecting to hire more new college graduates in 2004-05 than they hired last year. Nearly 23 percent said they would hold hiring even with last year, and just under 16 percent said they plan to cut back.

"This is a good indication that the job market for new college graduates is back on track," said Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. Other writers contributed to this article.