Half of Top 20 Fastest Growing Occupations Are in Health Care

At the broad occupation group level, construction (21%) and health care (19%) top the list for fastest growing by 2024. In terms of fastest growing, half of the top 20 fastest growing occupations are in the health care field.

Service occupations (which include protective services, building and grounds cleaning, personal appearance workers, funerals service workers and more), and professional and related (computer occupations, engineers, drafters, scientists, education, and more) rank first in most job openings.

Service occupations made up 18 percent of the jobs in 2014, and are projected to comprise 22 percent of the openings over the decade. Office and administrative support shifted in the opposite direction, making up 15 percent of the jobs in 2014 but only 11 percent of the total openings over the 2014 to 2024 period.

Six out of 10 total job openings (440,100) are expected to be due to the need to replace workers who retire or otherwise leave their occupation, with the remaining due to new or expanding businesses.

The top five occupations in terms of projected openings with high school or less as the typical entry-level education are sales or service occupations. Those with postsecondary certificates or an associate’s degree as the typical entry-level education include health care occupations, truck drivers, automotive technicians, and computer users support specialists. In the bachelor’s or higher category, the top five are more varied.

More information about Oregon's occupational employment projections to 2024 can be found in the employment projections box on the Publications page at QualityInfo.org.