10 Careers With Rock-Bottom Unemployment Rates
The sluggish economy has many workers anxious about job security. Yet despite the nation's high 7.8 percent unemployment rate, there are careers out there with jobless rates so low as to nearly guarantee a job to anyone qualified to work in those fields.
What kinds of jobs are they? Of the 10 listed here, compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics data, most are high skill and require extensive education, but some require only a high-school diploma or certification. They aren't all glamorous; a few can even be dangerous. But with unemployment rates below 1 percent, many job seekers likely will still find them attractive.
Take a look and tell us what you think.
10. Information security analysts:
- Unemployment rate: 0.9 percent.*
- Median annual pay: $75,660.*
- Entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- Number of jobs (2010): 302,300.*
- Projected employment growth: 22 percent (faster than average), or 65,700 jobs.*
9. Audiologists:
- Unemployment rate: 0.8 percent.
- Median annual pay: $66,660.
- Entry-level education: Doctoral or professional degree.
- Number of jobs (2010): 13,000.
- Projected employment growth: 37 percent (much faster than average), or 4,800 jobs.
8. Physicians and surgeons:
- Unemployment rate: 0.8 percent.
- Median annual pay: $40,300.
- Entry-level education: Doctoral or professional degree.
- Number of jobs (2010): 691,000.
- Projected employment growth: 24 percent (faster than average), or 168,300.
7. First-line supervisors of correctional officers:
- Unemployment rate: 0.6 percent.
- Median annual pay: $55,910.
- Entry-level education: High-school diploma or equivalent.
- Number of jobs (2010): 41,500.
- Projected employment growth: 6 percent (slower than average), or 2,300.
6. Petroleum engineers:
- Unemployment rate: 0.6 percent.
- Median annual pay: $114,080.
- Entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- Number of jobs (2010): 30,200.
- Projected employment growth: 17 percent (fast as average), or 5,100 jobs.
5. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers:
- Unemployment rate: 0.4 percent.
- Median annual pay: $68,240.
- Entry-level education: Post-secondary certificate or training.
- Number of jobs (2010): 60,100.
- Projected employment growth: 8 percent (slower than average), or 4,900 jobs.
4. Judges, magistrates and other judicial workers:
- Unemployment rate: 0.4 percent.
- Median annual pay: $91,800.
- Entry-level education: Varies, but a law degree is typical.
- Number of jobs (2010): 62,700.
- Projected employment growth: 7 percent (slower than average), or 4,600 jobs.
3. Biomedical engineers:
- Unemployment rate: 0.4 percent.
- Median annual pay: $81,540.
- Entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- Number of jobs (2010): 15,700.
- Projected employment growth: 62 percent (much faster than average), or 9,700 jobs.
2. Directors, religious activities and education:
- Unemployment rate: 0.3 percent.
- Median annual pay: $36,170.
- Entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- Number of jobs (2010): 126,000.
- Projected employment growth: 17 percent (average), or 21,200.
Find a job as a director of religious activities and education.
1. Astronomers and physicists:
- Unemployment rate: 0.3 percent.
- Median annual pay: $105,430.
- Entry-level education: Doctoral or professional degree.
- Number of jobs (2010): 20,600.
- Projected employment growth: 2,800.
Find a job as an astronomer or physicist.
*Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.
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David Schepp
David Schepp has spent more than a dozen years covering business news for the electronic and print media, including Dow Jones Newswires, BBC News, Gannett Co., and most recently at AOL's DailyFinance. Nearly 10 years ago, he started writing a weekly People@Work column, looking in depth at issues facing workers in today's workplace. Follow David on Twitter. Email David at david.schepp@huffingtonpost.com. Add David to your Google+ circles.
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