Let’s speak about jobs that are recession-proof! There is a sense of fear about job security whenever a recession is mentioned in the news, and with good cause.
During the Great Recession of 2008, over 10% of Americans were unemployed. Over 35 million jobs are expected to be lost by 2020. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate grew to 14.7 percent in 2021.
Recessions result in fewer job openings, huge layoffs, and fierce competition for available positions. Higher education degrees no longer guarantee job security in the same manner that they did in the past. Do you recall the minimum wage jobs that required a college diploma?
In reality, during a recession, only a few job sectors remain unaffected. And, while the repercussions of a recession will be different for each of us, let’s face it: everyone is affected by a recession.
Although no job is guaranteed, there are a few occupations that are less affected by a recession. Here is a list of the greatest recession-proof careers for those with various levels of education and experience:
What kind of occupations withstand a downturn?
8 industries with the best job security during a downturn
- Health-care services. People get sick and require medical care regardless of the state of the economy, thus the demand for health-care occupations is fairly stable, even during a downturn.
During a recession, what happens to jobs?
When firms fail, their assets are sold to other businesses, and their former employees are rehired by other competitive enterprises, as is the regular course of business. Because numerous businesses across various industries and markets collapse at the same time during a recession, the number of unemployed workers looking for new opportunities rises quickly. The amount of labor available for immediate hire increases, but business need for new employees decreases. Economists would expect such an increase in supply and drop in demand to result in a lower price (in this example the average pay) but not necessarily a lower total number of jobs once the price adjusts in a perfect, frictionless operating market.
During a recession, does employment drop?
When the term “recession” is used to characterize specific periods of economic downturn, it usually refers to the official recession dates set by the National Bureau of Economic Research’s business-cycle-dating committee (NBER). The NBER recession periods used to correlate with times of declining employment, but this link began to break down with the 1990-91 recession. For the current recession, job growth started fell below zero in early 2007, months before the official start of the downturn, and has continued to decline even until the second quarter of 2009, when most analysts expect the downturn to end. As a result, the recession’s effects should be quantified beginning in the second quarter of 2007 using the most recent statistics available.
Typically, the impacts of a recession on employment are viewed as the difference in employment levels at the beginning and end of a recessionary period.
However, this assumes that if the recession had not occurred, there would have been no job growth. The recession, on the other hand, not only causes a decline in employment from pre-crisis levels, but it also limits employment growth that would otherwise occur. In calculating the total effects of the recession on employment, this “foregone” employment must be taken into account. Because average employment growth varies greatly among demographic groupings, this factor is especially important for current purposes.
During a recession, what jobs are at risk?
The advent of artificial intelligence and automation will coincide with the next recession, putting all occupations that a computer or robot can do faster and better in jeopardy. “If organizations can utilize cheaper software and robotics to complete tasks faster and more correctly, it will surely effect people’s job security,” says Yaniv Masjedi, chief marketing officer of corporate communications provider Nextiva. Jobs in manufacturing plants, secretarial functions, inventory management, and responsibilities in the food preparation and service business are among the most susceptible, according to Masjedi. “Because these tasks are highly repetitious,” Masjedi says, “automation can replace such a workforce with robots that can duplicate the movements with 99 percent accuracy, greatly lowering the danger of failures and error.” “Health crises like as pandemics have no effect on robots or software programs, making it an even more realistic alternative for corporations that wish to maintain operations without endangering anyone’s health.”
During a recession, who suffers the most?
The groups who lost the most jobs during the Great Recession were the same ones that lost jobs throughout the 1980s recessions.
Hoynes, Miller, and Schaller use demographic survey and national time-series data to conclude that the Great Recession has harmed males more than women in terms of job losses. However, their research reveals that men have faced more cyclical labor market outcomes in earlier recessions and recoveries. This is partly due to the fact that men are more likely to work in industries that are very cyclical, such as construction and manufacturing. Women are more likely to work in industries that are less cyclical, such as services and government administration. While the pattern of labor market effects across subgroups in the 2007-9 recession appears to be comparable to that of the two early 1980s recessions, it did have a little bigger impact on women’s employment, while the effects on women were smaller in this recession than in previous recessions. The effects of the recent recession were felt most acutely by the youngest and oldest workers. Hoynes, Miller, and Schaller also discover that, in comparison to the 1980s recovery, the current recovery is affecting males more than women, owing to a decrease in the cyclicality of women’s employment during this period.
The researchers find that the general image of demographic patterns of responsiveness to the business cycle through time is one of stability. Which groups suffered the most job losses during the Great Recession? The same groups that suffered losses during the 1980s recessions, and who continue to have poor labor market outcomes even in good times. As a result, the authors conclude that the Great Recession’s labor market consequences were distinct in size and length from those of past business cycles, but not in type.
Who is the hardest hit by a downturn?
Rising unemployment, dropping property values, and the stock market decline all had an impact on those approaching retirement, either directly or indirectly. Furthermore, many elderly persons who were not directly impacted by the recession had children or other relatives who were. For many older persons, the recession’s financial difficulties resulted in changes in wealth and spending patterns, as well as physical and mental health issues with long-term effects.
How do you get through a downturn?
But, according to Tara Sinclair, an economics professor at George Washington University and a senior fellow at Indeed’s Hiring Lab, one of the finest investments you can make to recession-proof your life is obtaining an education. Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher have a substantially lower unemployment rate than those with a high school diploma or less during recessions.
“Education is always being emphasized by economists,” Sinclair argues. “Even if you can’t build up a financial cushion, focusing on ensuring that you have some training and abilities that are broadly applicable is quite important.”
How long does the average recession last?
Since 1857, the average length of a recession has been less than 17.5 months. Since the days of the Buchanan administration, recessions have been shorter and less severe. The long-term average includes the 1873 recession, a 65-month kidney stone of a dip. The Great Depression, which lasted 43 months, is also included.
Recessions have gotten less severe in the years since World War II, lasting an average of 11.1 months. Part of this is because, owing to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, bank failures no longer result in the loss of your life savings, and the Federal Reserve has gotten (somewhat) better at managing the country’s money supply.
The Great Recession, which lasted 18 months from December 2007 to June 2009, was the longest post-World War II recession. The two-month Pandemic Recession, on the other hand, contributed to a reduction in the average length of recession.
Is a recession expected in 2023?
Rising oil prices and other consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Goldman Sachs, will cut US GDP this year, and the probability of a recession in 2023 has increased to 20% to 30%.