The Labor Department this morning released its monthly report on hiring, and here’s what it said: blah, blah, blah.
As a transitioning veteran, all you want to know is, “Which Industries Are Hot RIGHT NOW?”
Well, here you go:
Retail: It’s not all about cashiers. Seriously. You can be a cashier if you want – they’re hiring those – but what retail employers really want from the military is leadership, and skills like logistics, IT, HR … you get it. The good news? Retail hired 46,000 folks in January. More specifically? Three sectors hired half of those people: sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (9,000), motor vehicle and parts dealers (8,000; betcha didn’t see that one coming), and non-store retailers (6,000; think Amazon). Check out retail store manager, which is one of our Hot Jobs for Veterans.
Construction: This industry is recovering nicely from the recession and has been adding an average of 28,000 jobs a month over the last 12 months. January rocked the new year as construction employers hired 39,000 people in both residential and nonresidential building. Specialty trade contractors took 13,000 of them.
Health Care: If really want to know which industries are hot RIGHT NOW, look no further than this one. It’s been hot, it’s still hot and it’s going to be hot – next week, next month and next year. Uncle Sam (or at least his cousin at the Bureau of Labor Statistics) says health care added 38,000 more jobs in January, including 10,000 at physicians’ offices, 10,000 at hospitals and 7,000 at nursing and residential care facilities. In 2014, this smokin’ hot industry added an average of 28,000 every month. Best thing? You can get into it pretty quickly, as long as you don’t mind leaving the doctoring to someone else. Check out the Hot Degrees for Veterans.
Financial activities: Activities? Really? Goofy name, yes, but this (is Uncle Sam) just means insurance, banking, etc. Call it what you will, this sector put 26,000 peeps to work in January, including 14,000 at insurance companies. The industry has added 159,000 jobs over the last 12 months!
Manufacturing: Probably not your dad or grandfather’s job doing tedious manual jobs on an assembly line. Modern manufacturers need skilled employees who know how to use computer technology in production. Manufacturers added 22,000 to the payroll last month, including 7,000 in motor vehicles and parts, and 4,000 in wood products. In all, the industry hired 228,000 over the last 12 months.
Professional and Technical Services: These employers hired 33,000 in January, including 8,000 in computer systems design, and 8,000 in architectural and engineering services. Two of these are on our Hot Jobs for Veterans list. Can you guess which ones?
So there you have it. If you really want the details (blah, blah, blah), you can dig into them at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here’s a sneak preview: The civilian sector hired 257,000 in January.