The scope of today’s job market is incredibly vast. Industries continue to specialize more and more as some die and others are invented. It then can be really hard to keep track. Even for those about to enter the job market, understanding what one is getting into is challenging. Before getting into the exact industries though, it’s important to understand the general changes to the job market. 

Shift to Remote Work

COVID-19 and the pandemic that ensued were world changing events. Entire industries were born and died, daily life was completely morphed, and fear took hold. Remote work rose to popularity out of necessity at the time. And while today it is no longer needed, its popularity has not at all declined.

Suddenly people realized the value of remote work. No commuting, more time with one’s family, more time to work on what actually matters. For some businesses it just made sense to be remote. Today 91% of people are happier with flexible hours and the option to work remotely. It is a shift that wasn’t expected but that isn’t going away.

The other major shift to the job market comes in culture. Workers today aren’t looking to work 9-5’s, especially in menial conditions. Instead comfort, understanding, and flexibility are much more desired. Businesses are moving away from hierarchy, are moving away from harsh regulations. Instead wellness is being prioritized, treating workers as people and not just machines.

Industries and Jobs in Demand

Looking at the growing industries though, a somewhat different picture is painted. While some of the fastest growing industries are not surprising. Software developers and marketing analysts jobs being projected to massively grow, for example. Others are much more surprising.

Home health aides, for example, is the job with the most projected growth. Holding a median salary of only $29,430, health aides are predicted to have almost a million new jobs by 2031. Fast food workers, in comparison, have a median salary of $25,100. Although they’re only predicted to have 243,200 new jobs by 2031. 

In general more menial work and low-skill jobs are on the rise. Things like freight and material movers, stockers and order fillers, these are all massively rising. There are some jobs with more qualifications, things like nurses, cooks, and operation managers. Although a very large percentage are these smaller menial labor jobs.

This goes against a lot of the larger scale culture shift. It also goes against a lot of the expectations of today. For many, the idea was fast-food, movers, even waitresses would be replaced by now. Automation is very pervasive today, but it’s not all encompassing. And even automation requires upkeep and quality assurance in many cases.

This puts the future of the job market in an interesting place. The subset of jobs growing the most are the ones people do not want. And while some high skill and high pay jobs are growing. Many of these fit within the same niche of being technology and operations adjacent. This leaves a lot of people stranded job wise. In a world where the 9-5 isn’t even respected, job diversity is king.

Bringing it All Together

The future of the job market ultimately lies outside of most citizens’ hands. What each person can do though is be aware, stay knowledgeable on the shifts and changes. Remote work, culture, job growth, these are all great things to know about. And they’re only going to continue to change, maybe even at a more rapid pace. This is the future of the modern job market.