(NewsNation) — Hiring has slowed across much of the economy, but health care roles are expected to stay in high demand for years to come.
New projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show health care and social assistance will drive nearly 40% of job growth over the next decade, adding almost 2 million workers to the sector.
That momentum is already clear: Health care and social assistance roles have driven nearly 90% of all private-sector job gains so far this year.
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Two primary causes — an aging population and the growing prevalence of chronic conditions — have made jobs such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants and physical therapist assistants some of the fastest-growing careers.
The professional, scientific and technical services sector is also projected to grow faster than average, fueled in part by the explosion of data and the rise of artificial intelligence. Data scientists and information security analysts are expected to be in especially high demand.
Renewable energy roles like wind turbine technicians and solar panel installers are set to grow at the fastest rate of any occupation, though together they will add only about 20,000 new jobs.
In total, the U.S. economy is projected to add 5.2 million jobs from 2024 to 2034, according to the latest BLS estimates. That amounts to a 3% increase in total employment — well below the 13% growth over the 2014-2024 decade.
These are the 10 jobs the Labor Department says will grow fastest over the next decade.
Median annual wage data is the most recent available, May 2024.
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1 – Wind turbine service technicians
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 50%
Projected increase: 6,800 jobs
Median annual wage: $62,580
(CharlieChesvick/Getty Images)
2 – Solar photovoltaic installers
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 42%
Projected increase: 12,000 jobs
Median annual wage: $51,860
(boonchai wedmakawand/Getty Images)
3 – Nurse practitioners
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 40%
Projected increase: 128,400 jobs
Median annual wage: $129,210
(Ariel Skelley/Getty Images)
4 – Data scientists
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 34%
Projected increase: 82,500 jobs
Median annual wage: $112,590
(Nitat Termmee/Getty Images)
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5 – Information security analysts
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 29%
Projected increase: 52,100 jobs
Median annual wage: $124,910
(Nitat Termmee/Getty Images)
6 – Medical and health service managers
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 23%
Projected increase: 142,900 jobs
Median annual wage: $117,960
(sturti/Getty Images)
7 – Physical therapist assistants
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 22%
Projected increase: 24,500 jobs
Median annual wage: $65,510
(Anchiy/Getty Images)
8 – Actuaries
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 22%
Projected increase: 7,300 jobs
Median annual wage: $125,770
(Nitat Termmee/Getty Images)
9 – Operations research analysts
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 21%
Projected increase: 24,100 jobs
Median annual wage: $91,290
(Tom Werner/Getty Images)
10 – Physician assistants
Projected growth rate (2024-2034): 20%
Projected increase: 33,200 jobs
Median annual wage: $133,260
(Lu ShaoJi/Getty Images)
