Earlier today I read an interesting article that discussed the U.S. employment outlook and which jobs may or may not be good bets in a deteriorating economy. Martin Crutsinger of the Associated Press wrote:
While the downturn is expected to be short and mild, economists are still forecasting the unemployment rate, which jumped to 5.1 percent in March, will climb much higher before the nation’s job engine sputters back to life.
Economists are forecasting a jobless rate that will peak at around 6 percent, but probably not until early next year, several months after the recession is expected to end. Analysts said as many as 2 million people could lose their jobs in the current downturn.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, said:
All the indicators suggest that we will see even larger job declines in coming months. Businesses are getting nervous and pulling back.
“Safe” Jobs:
• Healthcare
• Education
• Farming
• Some manufacturing (airplanes, heavy machinery)
• Government
“Unsafe” Jobs:
• Other manufacturing (automakers, housing-related like appliances, furniture)
• Construction
• Housing-related industries (real estate agents, mortgage brokers)
• Wall Street firms
• Discretionary services (tourism-related)
Source:
“Job winners and losers in hard times”
Martin Crutsinger Associated Press, April 7, 2008
