At Military.com, we often promote the idea of picking careers based on industry growth. While this is a relatively stable approach, it doesn't account for factors such as job satisfaction or personal ambition. While picking the top-growing industries may not be for you, we can say that knowing which industries are on the decline can help prepare you against future misfortune. According to Margaret Steen of Yahoo! Hot Jobs, the following are the top 10 job sectors in decline.
Note: The percentages of loss are expected to be completed by 2018, based on 2008 job openings.
- Motor vehicle parts manufacturing: 18.6% of 544,000 jobs.
- Department stores: 10.2% of 1.56 million jobs.
- Semiconductor manufacturing: 33.7% of 432,000 jobs.
- Postal service: 13% of 748,000 jobs.
- Printing and related jobs: 16% of 594,000 jobs.
- Cut-and-set apparel manufacturing: 57% of 155,000 jobs.
- Newspaper publishers: 24.8% of 326,000 jobs.
- Mining support jobs: 23.2% of 238,000 jobs.
- Gas stations: 8.9% of 843,000 jobs.
- Wired telecom: 11% of 666,000 jobs.
If you are considering any of these job sectors, consider others where your current or future skill set will translate. This might require extra training or networking, but a solid contingency plan is well worth the extra effort. It's important to note that these industries shouldn't be entirely avoided; if you see a job opening in one, you should still take it. However, keep the trends in mind and plan ahead in case cuts are made
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