Economy
The 20 Fastest Growing Jobs in the Next Decade
How is the Job Market Shifting Over the Next Decade?
The employment landscape is constantly shifting. While agricultural jobs played a big role in the 19th century, a large portion of U.S. jobs today are in administration, sales, or transportation. So how can job seekers identify the fastest growing jobs of the future?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects there will be 11.9 million new jobs created from 2020 to 2030, an overall growth rate of 7.7%. However, some jobs have a growth rate that far exceeds this level. In this graphic, we use BLS data to show the fastest growing jobs—and fastest declining jobs—and how much they each pay.
The Top 20 Fastest Growing Jobs
We used the dataset that excludes occupations with above average cyclical recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, jobs such as motion picture projectionists, ticket takers, and restaurant cooks were removed. Once these exclusions were made, the resulting list reflects long-term structural growth.
Here are the fastest growing jobs from 2020 to 2030, along with the number of jobs that will be created and the median pay for the position.
Occupation | Percent employment change, 2020–2030P | Numeric employment change, 2020-2030P | Median annual wage, 2020 |
---|---|---|---|
Wind turbine service technicians | 68.2% | 4,700 | $56,230 |
Nurse practitioners | 52.2% | 114,900 | $111,680 |
Solar photovoltaic installers | 52.1% | 6,100 | $46,470 |
Statisticians | 35.4% | 14,900 | $92,270 |
Physical therapist assistants | 35.4% | 33,200 | $59,770 |
Information security analysts | 33.3% | 47,100 | $103,590 |
Home health and personal care aides | 32.6% | 1,129,900 | $27,080 |
Medical and health services managers | 32.5% | 139,600 | $104,280 |
Data scientists and mathematical science occupations, all other | 31.4% | 19,800 | $98,230 |
Physician assistants | 31.0% | 40,100 | $115,390 |
Epidemiologists | 29.6% | 2,300 | $74,560 |
Logisticians | 29.5% | 56,400 | $76,270 |
Speech-language pathologists | 28.7% | 45,400 | $80,480 |
Animal trainers | 28.5% | 17,200 | $31,520 |
Computer numerically controlled tool programmers | 27.4% | 7,400 | $57,740 |
Genetic counselors | 26.2% | 600 | $85,700 |
Crematory operators and personal care and service workers, all other | 24.8% | 19,900 | $28,420 |
Operations research analysts | 24.6% | 25,600 | $86,200 |
Actuaries | 24.5% | 6,800 | $111,030 |
Health specialties teachers, post-secondary | 24.3% | 58,900 | $99,090 |
Wind turbine service technicians have the fastest growth rate, with solar photovoltaic (solar panel) installers taking the third slot. The rapid growth is driven by demand for renewable energy. However, because these are relatively small occupations, the two roles will account for about 11,000 new jobs collectively.
Nine of the top 20 fastest growing jobs are in healthcare or related fields, as the baby boomer population ages and chronic conditions are on the rise. Home health and personal care aides, who assist with routine healthcare tasks such as bathing and feeding, will account for over one million new jobs in the next decade. This will be almost 10% of all new jobs created between 2020 and 2030. Unfortunately, these workers are the lowest paid on the list.
Computer and math-related jobs are also expected to see high growth. The BLS expects strong demand for IT security and software development, partly because of the increase in people that are working from home.
The Top 20 Fastest Declining Jobs
Structural changes in the economy will cause some jobs to decline quite quickly. Here are the top 20 jobs where employment is expected to decline the fastest over the next decade.
Occupation | Percent employment change, 2020–2030P | Numeric employment change, 2020-2030P | Median annual wage, 2020 |
---|---|---|---|
Word processors and typists | -36.0% | -16,300 | $41,050 |
Parking enforcement workers | -35.0% | -2,800 | $42,070 |
Nuclear power reactor operators | -32.9% | -1,800 | $104,040 |
Cutters and trimmers, hand | -29.7% | -2,400 | $31,630 |
Telephone operators | -25.4% | -1,200 | $37,710 |
Watch and clock repairers | -24.9% | -700 | $45,290 |
Door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, and related workers | -24.1% | -13,000 | $29,730 |
Switchboard operators, including answering service | -22.7% | -13,600 | $31,430 |
Data entry keyers | -22.5% | -35,600 | $34,440 |
Shoe machine operators and tenders | -21.6% | -1,100 | $30,630 |
Legal secretaries and administrative assistants | -21.0% | -33,600 | $48,980 |
Floral designers | -20.1% | -8,500 | $29,140 |
Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants | -18.7% | -100,600 | $63,110 |
Manufactured building and mobile home installers | -18.4% | -600 | $35,120 |
Telemarketers | -18.3% | -21,900 | $27,920 |
Order clerks | -18.2% | -24,400 | $35,590 |
Timing device assemblers and adjusters | -17.8% | -200 | $36,170 |
Print binding and finishing workers | -17.5% | -7,300 | $34,260 |
Prepress technicians and workers | -17.1% | -4,800 | $41,410 |
Tellers | -16.9% | -73,100 | $32,620 |
Eight of the top 20 declining jobs are in office and administrative support. This could be cause for concern, given this category currently makes up almost 13% of employment in the U.S.—the largest of any major category. Jobs involved in the production of goods and services, as well as sales jobs, are also seeing declines.
In all cases, automation is likely the biggest culprit. For example, software that automatically converts audio to text will reduce the need for typists.
While the fastest declining jobs typically fall within the lower salary range, there is one outlier. Nuclear power reactor operators, who earn a salary of over $100,000, will see employment decline at a steep rate of -33%. No new nuclear plants have opened since the 1990s, and nuclear power faces steep competition from renewable energy sources.
Warning: Education Required
As the composition of employment shifts, it eliminates some jobs and creates others. For instance, while production jobs are declining, new opportunities exist for “computer numerically controlled tool programmers.” These workers develop programs to control the automated equipment that processes materials.
However, while many of the fastest growing jobs are higher paying, they typically also require advanced education.
Top 20 Fastest Growing Jobs | Top 20 Fastest Declining Jobs | |
---|---|---|
# with median salary > $41,950 | 17 | 5 |
# with post-secondary education required | 16 | 0 |
Seventeen of the top 20 fastest growing jobs have a median salary higher than $41,950, which is the median salary for all jobs in total. Most also require post-secondary schooling. These opportunities are replacing jobs that only required a high school diploma.
With tuition costs soaring relative to inflation, this could create challenges for displaced workers or young people entering the workforce.
Markets
Visualizing Global Income Distribution Over 200 Years
How has global income distribution changed over history? Below, we show three distinct periods since the Industrial Revolution.

Visualizing Global Income Distribution Over 200 Years
Has the world become more unequal?
With COVID-19 disrupting societies and lower-income countries in particular, social and economic progress made over the last decade is in danger of being reversed. And with rising living costs and inflation across much of the world, experts warn that global income inequality has been exacerbated.
But the good news is that absolute incomes across many poorer countries have significantly risen over the last century of time. And though work remains, poverty levels have fallen dramatically in spite of stark inequality.
To analyze historical trends in global income distribution, this infographic from Our World in Data looks at three periods over the last two centuries. It uses economic data from 1800, 1975, and 2015 compiled by Hans and Ola Rosling.
Methodology
For global income estimates, data was gathered by country across three key variables:
- Population
- GDP per capita
- Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality by statistical distribution
Daily incomes were measured in a hypothetical “international-$” currency, equal to what a U.S. dollar would buy in America in 2011, to allow for comparable incomes across time periods and countries.
Historical Patterns in Global Income Distribution
In 1800, over 80% of the world lived in what we consider extreme poverty today.
At the time, only a small number of countries—predominantly Western European countries, Australia, Canada and the U.S.—saw meaningful economic growth. In fact, research suggests that between 1 CE and 1800 CE the majority of places around the world saw miniscule economic growth (only 0.04% annually).
By 1975, global income distribution became bimodal. Most citizens in developing countries lived below the poverty line, while most in developed countries lived above it, with incomes nearly 10 times higher on average. Post-WWII growth was unusually rapid across developed countries.
Fast forward just 40 years to 2015 and world income distribution changed again. As incomes rose faster in poorer countries than developed ones, many people were lifted out of poverty. Between 1975 and 2015, poverty declined faster than at any other time. Still, steep inequality persisted.
A Tale of Different Economic Outputs
Even as global income distribution has started to even out, economic output has trended in the opposite direction.
As the above interactive chart shows, GDP per capita was much more equal across regions in the 19th century, when it sat around $1,100 per capita on a global basis. Despite many people living below the poverty line during these times, the world also had less wealth to go around.
Today, the global average GDP per capita sits at close to $15,212 or about 14 times higher, but it is not as equally distributed.
At the highest end of the spectrum are Western and European countries. Strong economic growth, greater industrial output, and sufficient legal institutions have helped underpin higher GDP per capita numbers. Meanwhile, countries with the lowest average incomes have not seen the same levels of growth.
This highlights that poverty, and economic prosperity, is heavily influenced by where one lives.
Markets
Visualizing China’s $18 Trillion Economy in One Chart
China’s economy reached a GDP of 114 trillion yuan ($18 trillion) in 2021, well above government targets. What sectors drove that growth?

Visualizing China’s $18 Trillion Economy in 2021
China is the world’s second largest economy after the U.S., and it is expected to eventually climb into the number one position in the coming decades.
While China’s economy has had a much rockier start this year due to zero-tolerance COVID-19 lockdowns and supply chain issues, our visualization covers a full year of data for 2021—a year in which most economies recovered after the initial chaos of the pandemic.
In 2021, China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached ¥114 trillion ($18 trillion in USD), according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The country’s economy outperformed government targets of 6% growth, with the overall economy growing by 8.1%.
Let’s take a look at what powers China’s modern economy.
Breaking Down China’s Economy By Sector
Sector | 2021 Total GDP (Yuan) | 2021 Total GDP (USD) | % Share |
---|---|---|---|
Industry | ¥37.3T | $5.9T | 32.6% |
Wholesale and Retail Trades | ¥10.5T | $1.7T | 9.2% |
Finance | ¥9.1T | $1.4T | 8.0% |
Farming, Forestry, Animal Husbandry, and Fishery | ¥8.7T | $1.4T | 7.6% |
Construction | ¥8.0T | $1.3T | 7.0% |
Real Estate | ¥7.8T | $1.2T | 6.9% |
Transport, Storage, and Post | ¥4.7T | $0.7T | 4.1% |
Information Transmission, Software and IT Services | ¥4.4T | $0.7T | 3.9% |
Renting & Leasing Activities and Business Services | ¥3.5T | $0.6T | 3.1% |
Accommodation and Restaurants | ¥1.8T | $0.3T | 1.6% |
Others | ¥18.1T | $2.8T | 15.9% |
Total | ¥114T | ¥18T | 100.0% |
Industrial production—activity in the manufacturing, mining, and utilities sectors—is by far the leading driver of China’s economy. In 2021, the sector generated ¥37.3 trillion, or one-third of the country’s total economic activity.
Despite a slowdown in December, wholesale and retail trades also performed strongly in 2021. As the main gauge of consumption, it was affected by lockdown measures and the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant towards the end of the year, but still rose by double digits, reaching a total of ¥10.5 trillion*.
“Other services”, which includes everything from scientific research and development to education and social services, generated 16% of China’s total economy in 2021, or ¥18.1 trillion.
*Editor’s note: At time of publishing, China’s government seems to have since adjusted this number to ¥11.0 trillion, which is not consistent with the original data set provided, but worth noting.
Where is China’s GDP Headed?
China’s economy recovered noticeably faster than most major economies last year, and as the overall trend below shows, the country has grown consistently in the years prior.
Before the pandemic hit, China’s quarterly GDP growth had been quite stable at just above 5%.
After the initial onset of COVID-19, the country’s economy faltered, mirroring economies around the globe. But after a strong recovery into 2021, resurging cases caused a new series of crackdowns on the private sector, slowing down GDP growth considerably.
With the slowdown continuing into early 2022, China’s economic horizon still looks uncertain. The lockdown in Shanghai is expected to continue all the way to June 1st, and over recent months there have been hundreds of ships stuck outside of Shanghai’s port as a part of ongoing supply chain challenges.
China’s Zero-COVID Policy: Good or Bad for the Economy?
While every country reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic differently, China adopted a zero-COVID policy of strict lockdowns to control cases and outbreaks.
For most of 2021, the policy didn’t deter GDP growth. Despite some major cities fully or partially locked down to control regional outbreaks, the country’s economy still paced well ahead of many other major economies.
But the policy faced a challenge with the emergence of the Omicron variant. Despite lockdowns and an 88% vaccination rate nationally, seven out of China’s 31 provinces and all of the biggest cities have reported Omicron cases.
And China’s zero-COVID policy has not affected all sectors equally. Industrial production rose by more than 10% in the first 11 months of 2021, despite city lockdowns around the country. That’s because many factories in China are in suburban industrial parks outside the cities, and employees often live nearby.
But many sectors like hotels and restaurants have been more severely affected by city lockdowns. Many global economies are starting to transition to living with COVID, with China remaining as one of the last countries to follow a zero-COVID policy. Does that ensure the country’s economy will continue to slow in 2022, or will China manage to recover and maintain one of the world’s fastest growing economies?
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