The 10 best industries for job security

Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we found 10 industries with high employment growth and where workers tend to stick with the same employers for a long time.
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Job security is one of the many factors you might be thinking about when planning your career. We found 10 industries that are quickly growing, and where workers tend to stick around with the same employers for a long time.

To get a sense of overall job security for different industry sectors, we looked at median job tenure as of 2018 , the most recent year for which data is available, and the percent growth or decline in the number of people employed in each industry between March 2014 and March 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Industries that have high employment growth and where employees tend to stay in the industry for a longer period of time are likely to be better for those seeking job security, while slower-growing or shrinking industries and industries with shorter typical length of employment will probably be worse.

We rescaled each of the two measures from 0 to 1, with 0 being the lowest value and 1 being the highest value, and averaged those two rescaled scores together to get an overall job security index.

Here are the 10 industries with the highest scores on that index:

10. Employment in hospitals grew 9.5% over the last five years, and the median job tenure was 4.9 years.

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9. The professional and technical services industry, which includes a variety of highly trained professional activities including legal advice and scientific research, had 14.6% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 3.9 years.

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8. The plastics and rubber products manufacturing industry had 9.6% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 5 years.

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7. The nonmetallic mineral products industry (which makes products out of materials like sand and stone, including glass) had 9% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 5.2 years.

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6. The social assistance industry, which provides social services like personal home assistance and child care, had job growth of 20.9% in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 3 years.

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5. The transportation-equipment manufacturing sector, which includes motor vehicle, train, aerospace, and ship manufacturing, saw 12.4% growth in employment in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 5.7 years.

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REUTERS/John F. Martin

4. The transportation and warehousing sector, which covers most forms of transportation of goods and passengers, had 20.8% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 4.2 years.

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3. The construction industry had 23.3% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 4.1 years.

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2. The waste management and remediation services industry had 17.6% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 5.8 years.

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1. The utilities sector, which covers electrical power, natural gas, and water and sewer systems, saw job growth of just 0.7% over the last five years but had a whopping 9.5 year median job tenure, far higher than any other industry sector.

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The 10 best industries for job security

10. Employment in hospitals grew 9.5% over the last five years, and the median job tenure was 4.9 years.

9. The professional and technical services industry, which includes a variety of highly trained professional activities including legal advice and scientific research, had 14.6% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 3.9 years.

8. The plastics and rubber products manufacturing industry had 9.6% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 5 years.

7. The nonmetallic mineral products industry (which makes products out of materials like sand and stone, including glass) had 9% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 5.2 years.

6. The social assistance industry, which provides social services like personal home assistance and child care, had job growth of 20.9% in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 3 years.

5. The transportation-equipment manufacturing sector, which includes motor vehicle, train, aerospace, and ship manufacturing, saw 12.4% growth in employment in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 5.7 years.

4. The transportation and warehousing sector, which covers most forms of transportation of goods and passengers, had 20.8% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 4.2 years.

3. The construction industry had 23.3% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 4.1 years.

2. The waste management and remediation services industry had 17.6% job growth in the last 5 years and a median job tenure of 5.8 years.

1. The utilities sector, which covers electrical power, natural gas, and water and sewer systems, saw job growth of just 0.7% over the last five years but had a whopping 9.5 year median job tenure, far higher than any other industry sector.

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