New report outlines future job, healthcare market

According to a new report by the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, jobs in healthcare and environmental areas are growing faster than the economy as a whole.

Monday’s report, titled “Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow,” predicts the U.S. labor market over the next five to ten years, based on statistics from the Department of Labor.

The 26-page report focused on three major areas of expansion: health care, education and clean energy.

Health care is expected to be the largest source of job growth, with occupations such as medical records, health information technicians, registered nurses, clinical laboratory technicians, and physical therapists expected to grow the most, cites the report.

Blue-collar jobs in construction and manufacturing are expected to recover from their current depressed state and grow in the coming decade thanks to invested 787 billion dollar stimulus package.

Though the economy is already moving toward “green” technology, environmentally friendly programs will continue to grow, with employers further desiring those trained in specific “green” operations. According to the report, jobs devoted to environmental improvement grew faster than other occupations between the years of 2000 and 2006.

The report also details the training and skills needed in these growing occupations, as well as the education required to prepare workers for such jobs.

“Occupations requiring higher educational attainment are projected to grow much faster than those with lower education requirements, with the fastest growth among occupations that require an associate’s degree or a post-secondary vocational award,” says the report.

Employers will continue to value workers who think critically and solve problems, the report says, with occupations hiring those with two-year associate degrees growing fast than those seeking bachelor’s degrees.

“In an economy where jobs requiring at least an associate’s degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience, it’s never been more essential to continue education and training after high school,” President Barack Obama wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post.

Expanding educational opportunities will be a leading goal of the Obama administration, he said, as Obama wants to make the United States the leader in college degrees by 2020, adding 5 million more graduates by that time.

“Part of this goal will be met by helping Americans better afford a college education. But part of it will also be strengthening our network of community colleges,” he wrote.

“We believe it’s time to reform our community colleges so that they provide Americans of all ages a chance to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to compete for the jobs of the future,” Obama wrote.

Unfortunately, despite the optimistic tone of the report, the job market continues to suffer, as over 6.5 million people have lost their jobs since December 2007.

Council of Economic Advisers chairwoman Christina Romer, said it is difficult to determine how many jobs have been created since the stimulus funds were invested. “You don’t know what the economy would have done without it,” she said in an interview with CNBC.

A complimentary report by the Corporate Voices for Working Families, the American Society for Training & Development, The Conference Board and the Society for Human Resource Management, shows that employers continue to struggle with ill-prepared workers.

Released Tuesday, the report “The Ill-Prepared U.S. Workforce: Exploring the Challenges of Employer-Provided Workforce Readiness Training” draws from a questionnaire given to 217 employers about the training of newly hired graduates of high school and two- and four-year colleges.

“Almost half of respondents said they have to provide readiness training for new hires – and the majority rate their programs as only ‘moderately’ or ‘somewhat successful’ “.

“It doesn’t make any difference if you’re operating a business in Mumbai, Beijing or New York – the number one challenge facing every organization is finding and growing skilled talent,” said Society for Human Resource Management CEO and President Laurence O’Neil.