The U.S. Occupations at Greatest Risk of a Labor Shortage – Real Time Economics – WSJ

• The U.S. Occupations at Greatest Risk of a Labor Shortage – Real Time Economics – WSJ

  Many careers in demand will NOT require a college degree. Under 2 year training by a community college or other type of trade school will lead to a solid salary with benefits. There will be many road to a BA/BS college degree but you can first sustain yourself in a career that may sponsor you for a BA/BS degree.

• tags: education hispanic employment graduation careers training jobs wages

  • The U.S. is at risk of running out of occupational therapists, railroad engineers, mathematicians, machinists and other workers, potentially leaving the economy in a long-term slump.
  • Meanwhile, the share of Americans in the labor force is historically low and wages are barely showing signs of picking up.
  • Simple demographics are the main culprit for the looming shortage. For one, aging baby boomers mean more retirements.
  • Second, an aging population also will spur demand in some fields, especially health care
  • Meanwhile, retirements will create openings in many skilled jobs that younger workers have eschewed, such as plant operators, railroad workers, machinists and electricians—jobs that require a specific skill set but not necessarily a college degree.
  • “The end result would be a 25-year period, 2005–30, of the U.S. economy growing by 1.5% on average,” the group said. “This is unprecedented: never in modern U.S. history have we experienced such a lengthy slow-growth period.”
  • Possible solutions won’t sound surprising, especially coming from a business group: immigration, automation and offshoring.

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