The fastest growing jobs and industries through 2023
Even in a good economy, with significant job growth and high employment, there are shifts that favor some industries over others. According to a recent Careerbuilder study, this means good news and bad news for the U.S. job scene between now and 2023.
First, the bad news: middle-wage jobs (like customer service representatives, maintenance workers, construction workers, or truck drivers, for some examples) are not expected to keep pace with high-wage jobs (like nurses, accountants, and IT specialists) and low-wage jobs (like home health aides, retail sales, and receptionists), which are both poised for serious growth. The study identified 121 jobs that will decline in growth between 2018 and 2023, and 75 of those jobs were considered middle-wage.
But now the good news: these high- and low-wage fields are about to experience significant growth, meaning millions of job openings—approximately 8 million by 2023. Let’s look at some of the industries in the study, divided by high-, mid-, and low-wage job types.
Fastest growing jobs
| Fast-Growing Occupations By Wage Category | Jobs Added, 2018-2023 | % Change, 2018-2023 | Median Hourly Pay |
| High-Wage | |||
| Registered Nurses | 255,047 | 8.39% | $33.55 |
| Software Developers, Applications | 143,466 | 15.57% | $48.49 |
| Postsecondary Teachers | 110,955 | 7.25% | $33.53 |
| Accountants and Auditors | 86,079 | 6.02% | $32.33 |
| Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | 83,187 | 12.60% | $30.21 |
| Computer User Support Specialists | 54,044 | 7.48% | $24.16 |
| Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | 43,625 | 8.58% | $23.72 |
| Middle-Wage | |||
| Customer Service Representatives | 120,673 | 4.21% | $15.88 |
| Medical Assistants | 102,274 | 14.51% | $15.62 |
| Construction Laborers | 92,182 | 6.56% | $14.73 |
| Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 83,931 | 5.41% | $18.08 |
| Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | 55,345 | 7.34% | $21.56 |
| Light Truck or Delivery Service Drivers | 48,837 | 5.12% | $15.04 |
| Billing and Posting Clerks | 44,283 | 8.59% | $17.85 |
| Low-Wage | |||
| Home Health Aides | 207,732 | 22.42% | $11.17 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 146,281 | 5.49% | $10.01 |
| Retail Salespersons | 108,229 | 2.37% | $11.29 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | 100,664 | 7.46% | $12.06 |
| Nursing Assistants | 96,384 | 6.33% | $13.23 |
| Security Guards | 61,964 | 5.12% | $12.97 |
| Receptionists and Information Clerks | 69,461 | 6.29% | $13.70 |
Trends in hiring over the next 5 years
If you’re in a field that’s expected to decline, this news can be dismaying for your career outlook. However, it’s also a great time to take stock of your career goals and your near future, and decide whether you’re able to adapt your skills to be more industry-flexible, or whether you’d like to change careers altogether to maximize your job potential.
Healthcare
Healthcare is one of the fields that is exploding now, and is likely to continue growing at a very fast pace for the foreseeable future.The healthcare field is popular because with a growing population (especially one that skews older and more in need of medical care), the need will continue to grow. But healthcare is also one of the most innovative fields, with digital equipment and recordkeeping requiring ever more tech-literate employees.
Technology
As everything becomes more technology-focused, more and more companies will need dedicated tech teams and services to provide the digital infrastructure necessary to do business. People with IT expertise and skills will find themselves in demand in many different fields and companies. Having a flexible skill set that’s technologically advanced can help guarantee a spot in the digital jobs boom over the next several years.
Data Analysis
Everything comes down to data these days, from marketing and customer service to accounting and financial data. This is also an area where a strong set of analytical and problem-solving skills can be applied across different industries, in different roles.
Basically, the professional future is flexibility—if you’re willing to develop future-facing skills to go along with your education and experience base.
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