Top growing and declining jobs over the next five years by wage category - according to CareerBuilder and Emsi data.
Not every occupation can add new jobs as the economy grows. Some are being replaced by advances in technology – like travel agents and printing press operators, while other jobs are lost due to a shift in public behavior – like how doing your taxes online will lead to less demand of accountants.
According to CareerBuilder and Emsi research, high-wage and low-wage occupations are each projected to grow 5 percent from 2016 to 2021, but middle-wage jobs are only estimated to grow 3 percent. At the same time, 61 percent of the 173 occupations expected to lose jobs over the next five years are in the middle-wage category.
"If we can't find a way to re-skill and up-skill workers at scale, middle-wage workers will become increasingly susceptible to unemployment or will have to move into lower-paying roles that may not support them and their families," says Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. "This can have a negative ripple effect on consumer spend, housing, investing and other key financial indicators."
Keep a lookout for opportunities to learn new and exciting skills that may be able to boost your job prospects in the future.
Here are the jobs projected to add and lose the most over the next five years:
Growing High-Wage Occupations
Occupation | 2016 Jobs | 2021 Jobs | Job Added 2016 - 2021 | 2016 - 2021 % Change |
Software Developers, Applications | 772,195 | 861,122 | 88,927 | 12% |
Computer Systems Analysts | 600,001 | 671,245 | 71,244 | 12% |
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | 532,336 | 590,363 | 58,027 | 11% |
Management Analysts | 798,484 | 870,713 | 72,229 | 9% |
Registered Nurses | 2,870,340 | 3,116,957 | 246,617 | 9% |
Declining High-Wage Occupations
Occupation | 2016 Jobs | 2021 Jobs | Job Added 2016 - 2021 | 2016 - 2021 % Change |
Postal Service Mail Carriers | 303,325 | 279,023 | (24,302) | (8%) |
Reporters and Correspondents | 47,501 | 44,063 | (3,438) | (7%) |
Construction Managers | 368,245 | 350,774 | (17,471) | (5%) |
Real Estate Sales Agents | 415,006 | 400,417 | (14,589) | (4%) |
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers | 622,435 | 617,020 | (5,415) | (1%) |
Growing Middle-Wage Occupations
Occupation | 2016 Jobs | 2021 Jobs | Job Added 2016 - 2021 | 2016 - 2021 % Change |
Medical Assistants | 631,435 | 701,056 | 69,621 | 11% |
Customer Service Representatives | 2,674,925 | 2,846,989 | 172,064 | 6% |
Maintenance and Repair Workers | 1,466,944 | 1,535,161 | 68,217 | 5% |
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 1,926,886 | 2,009,133 | 82,247 | 4% |
Office Clerks | 3,365,039 | 3,489,518 | 124,479 | 4% |
Declining Middle-Wage Occupations
Occupation | 2016 Jobs | 2021 Jobs | Job Added 2016 - 2021 | 2016 - 2021 % Change |
Printing Press Operators | 174,311 | 159,083 | (15,228) | (9%) |
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers | 494,879 | 458,732 | (36,147) | (7%) |
Travel Agents | 77,683 | 72,789 | (4,894) | (6%) |
Carpenters | 1,053,273 | 1,031,359 | (21,914) | (2%) |
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 1,780,151 | 1,752,270 | (27,881) | (2%) |
Growing Low-Wage Occupations
Occupation | 2016 Jobs | 2021 Jobs | Job Added 2016 - 2021 | 2016 - 2021 % Change |
Home Health Aides | 992,134 | 1,179,527 | 187,393 | 19% |
Cooks, Restaurant | 1,219,433 | 1,333,041 | 113,608 | 9% |
Nursing Assistants | 1,520,614 | 1,655,662 | 135,048 | 9% |
Security Guards | 1,185,116 | 1,260,953 | 75,837 | 6% |
Janitors and Cleaners | 2,632,801 | 2,792,345 | 159,544 | 6% |
Declining Low-Wage Occupations
Occupation | 2016 Jobs | 2021 Jobs | Job Added 2016 - 2021 | 2016 - 2021 % Change |
Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors | 78,078 | 64,271 | (13,807) | (18%) |
Sewing Machine Operators | 157,931 | 135,575 | (22,356) | (14%) |
Floral Designers | 53,876 | 48,391 | (5,485) | (10%) |
Cooks, Fast Food | 545,746 | 530,839 | (14,907) | (3%) |
Tellers | 501,879 | 490,202 | (11,677) | (2%) |