In my annual economic forecast presentation a couple of weeks ago, I looked forward to 2023, which I covered in this column last week. I also took a longer timeline through 2031 to see what our economy would look like using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) occupational projections.
There are 22 major occupational groups tracked by the BLS and the charts below show the changes in the top 12 major groups that account for 85 percent of jobs locally.
There are several things of interest. First, the top 12 major occupational groups remain the same in 10 years’ time as today. Second, office and administrative support occupations and sales and related occupations saw their share of the economy fall. In fact, these occupations have been losing share since 2013 and will have fewer jobs in 2031 than in 2013 even as the economy grows.
Third, four occupational groups will see more than 1,000 jobs created over the next 10 years. They are food preparation, transportation, and the two healthcare occupational groups. By 2031, transportation occupations will be the second-largest group, and healthcare support occupations will break the top 10.
The BLS drills down further into specific occupations and projects growth over the next 10 years. Of the 25 occupations with the fastest projected growth, 12 are in healthcare or computer occupations. For example, nurse practitioners are expected to grow by 46 percent and physical and occupational therapy assistants by 27 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
In computer occupations, information security analysts (cyber security) are expected to grow by 35 percent. In Augusta, this occupation has grown by more than 400 percent since 2013 when the Army announced relocating its cyber command to Augusta.
If the BLS projections are correct, Augusta is well-placed to benefit from these changes over the next 10 years.
