16
Unit 1 Career Exploration
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 1-4. These 10 occupations are projected to see the greatest growth
in terms of jobs openings.
Occupations Offering the
Greatest Number of New Jobs, 2013–2022
Occupation
Number of
New Jobs
(in thousands)
Percent
Increase
Registered nurses 526.8 19.4
Retail salespersons 434.7 9.8
Customer service representatives 298.7 12.6
Combined food preparation and
service workers, including fast-food
421.9 14.2
Office clerks, general 184.1 6.2
Personal care aides 580.8 48.8
Home health aides 424.2 48.5
Janitors and cleaners, except maids
and housekeeping cleaners
280 12.1
Nursing assistants 312.2 21.1
Medical assistants 162.9 29
More than three-fourths of the 15.6 million new jobs that
will exist by 2016 will be service-oriented. All are focused on
producing some type of service. Figure 1-4 shows the numbers of
new jobs that will be created during the period, not the millions
that already exist. The US occupations that produce goods are
construction, agriculture, forestry, fi shing, manufacturing, and
mining.
Information Technology
Another focus of today’s economy is information. The
computer and the Internet are American inventions. These are the
tools of the information economy. What people learn with these
tools helps them to create new services, improve business methods,
and lower costs.
As you will see in Chapter 8, technology has a major impact
on the work people do. For example, laptop computers, tablets,
smartphones, and Wi-Fi connections allow people to work on
airplanes, in cafés, or in their cars.