With all the bad news about the U.S. employment situation in the media, you'd think it's impossible to find a job in today's labor market. However, while the private sector is toiling with high unemployment, the public sector is hiring and looking to veterans to fill many of its mission-critical jobs.
According to a Partnership of Public Service (PPS) study titled, "Where the Jobs Are 2009: Mission-Critical Opportunities for America," the public sector will need to fill 273,000 jobs in various federal agencies over the next three years.
The greatest hiring need is in the health-care field. At least 54,114 medical and public health jobs need to be filled, including 31,455 nurses, 10,626 doctors and thousands of nursing assistants, pharmacists, and other wellness professionals, according to the PPS.
With 52,077 positions available, jobs in security and protection are also in high demand. And over the next three years, the federal government wants to hire 3,669 police officers and 34,500 transportation officers.
Other fields looking to hire new employees are compliance and enforcement with 31,276 projected open positions, legal with 23,596, and administration and program management with 17,287.
Two of the main reasons for the hiring push are the need to bolster veteran employment, and to stop the brain drain that will occur when thousands of federal workers retire in the coming years. The PPS projects that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will help plug these gaps by attempting to fill 48,159 jobs in the next three years. The Department of Homeland Security will also have a record 65,730, and the Department of Defense will have 43,514 open positions that veterans can fill.
"For job seekers motivated by a desire to make a difference and improve the lives of Americans, there are no better possibilities than those provided by our federal government," PPS President-CEO Max Stier said in a press release. "This report confirms that the job opportunities are there. People need to seize them."
Other mission-critical jobs that will be need to be filled include the following:
- Attorneys, paralegals and other legal experts to fill more than 23,000 jobs at 21 federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice.
- About 5,696 human resource professionals at 14 agencies that have identified HR as a mission-critical occupation.
- Biological science experts to fill 4,886 jobs at the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, EPA and other agencies.
- Border patrol agents, customs officers, food inspectors and other compliance and enforcement positions to fill more than 30,000 positions at the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and other agencies.
- Accountants, tax examiners, auditors, and budget and financial analysts to fill 16,644 jobs at the IRS, Department of Treasury and 15 other agencies.
- Information technology (IT) experts for 11,549 positions.
- Engineers to fill more than 10,642 jobs at the Departments of Defense and Transportation, NASA and more.
Veterans interested in working for the federal government should visit USAJobs.gov to apply for any of these open positions. And don't forget: Veterans have an edge when it comes to applying for jobs in the public sector through veterans' preference. Veterans' preference is for disabled former service members or veterans who served on active duty in the armed forces during certain specified time periods or in military campaigns; they are entitled to preference over civilians in the hiring process.
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