Since the early 2000’s, department stores have been drastically shutting down resulting in at least 448K retail jobs being cut as stores struggle to keep a dying American tradition alive. Long are the days where people go to the mall to unwind, check out the latest fashions and grab an Auntie Anne pretzel along the way. We are living in a world where people could barely stop looking at their phones while driving to work so having access to EVERYTHING on-line has boosted E-commerce business like never before. Right now, the retail business is skating on thin ice and giant stores like Sears, Kmart and Macy’s are seconds away from falling in. Unfortunately, there’s no safety net in place so retail professionals need to prepare to shift gears and take a look at the many other wonderful opportunities blossoming from the ruins.
Distributors/Supply-Chain/Transportation
With an increase in on-line shopping comes an increase in warehouse facilities to ensure fast delivery and product availability that meets customer needs of wanting it NOW. This creates a high demand in jobs such as Truck Drivers, Shipping/Receiving Associates, Supply-Chain Managers and many other within the Warehouse & Transportation industry. For example, Amazon has been building fulfillment centers in record numbers all over the world to keep up with consumers request for quick turnaround deliveries being completed sometimes on the same day!
Healthcare
The Healthcare industry is another field that is frequently in demand due to the aging population that shows a decline in fertility ratings but a rise on life expectancy; projected numbers show an 18% constant increase in healthcare occupations from 2016 to 2026. People are always in need of medical services, manufacturing medical equipment and developing pharmaceuticals so there’s a wide-range of job possibilities.
IT/Software Developers
AI has taken over globally and with a boost in businesses utilizing computers to take on repetitive jobs; the IT field will never stop growing with statistics showing 22% continuous job growth up until the year 2020! As big/small companies adopt the idea of automative services – the need for more technology in various fields such as manufacturing to local businesses purchasing outsourced IT services has brought on the need of data centres and remote IT teams to maintain continuous business operations. As some companies pave the way, others will soon follow in this direction to avoid being left in the dust.
*All statistics are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); www.BLS.gov