- Wind turbine service technician is the fastest-growing job in the US.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics released projections highlighting changes from 2023 to 2033.
Being able to land new work has been rough for job seekers amid a cooldown in hiring and increased competition as more people enter the US labor force.
Americans having trouble getting interviews could look ahead to what jobs are projected to grow rapidly between 2023 and 2033. Below are the 15 jobs that could see the highest percent increases in their employment, according to new projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday showed wind turbine service technician is the occupation with the highest projected percent increase in employment from 2023 to 2033. It was the only job with an increase of over 50%, but solar photovoltaic installers came close with a projected employment increase of 48%.
"The increased demand for electricity is related to growth in electric vehicles and new data centers," the news release said. "Although these occupations are expected to be fast growing, the two occupations are projected to add fewer than 20,000 jobs combined."
A traveling wind turbine tech who talked to Business Insider a few years ago highlighted what the job is like, including his duties of routine maintenance, troubleshooting, and other responsibilities, as well as why he took on this job.
"We are as a society trying to move away from coal and oil for our power generation, and being able to be a part of that kind of movement and being part of the solution is definitely a proud moment for me," he said.
Those with healthcare experience could see a rapid increase in some job opportunities in the future. Nurse practitioners and physical therapist assistants were among the 15 fastest-growing jobs. Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers rounded out the top 15.
"Healthcare and social assistance is projected to have the largest growth and be the fastest growing industry sector," the news releases from BLS on Thursday said.
Home health and personal care aides are expected to see the largest increase in employment from 2023 to 2033, with an increase of 820,500. While that's far beyond the projected increases of other occupations, there were 15 other jobs where employment is projected to jump by over 100,000. That includes restaurant cooks, registered nurses, and management analysts.
Social assistance workers could be in demand over the next several years and beyond to help care for the aging population. Nursing homes and other places have had labor shortages. Cory Stahle, an Indeed economist, previously told Business Insider healthcare is one key industry where there could continue to be long-term shortages.
"We see the nursing shortage story has been a multi-year story at this point, and we continue to see nurses saying that they want to leave, they're burned out," Stahle said.
Nurse practitioners and some of the other fastest-growing jobs have median annual wages in the six figures, based on wages from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
The 13 fastest-growing occupations have median annual wages above the median for all occupations, which is $48,060. The median for solar photovoltaic installers, which is the second-fastest growing job, is close to the overall median, though, at $48,800. Home health and personal care aides, as well as veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers, are projected to grow faster than many other occupations, but they have lower pay than the overall median.