Job outlook · BLS projections 2025–35
Careers in demand: projected openings, growth and new jobs, side by side.
“In demand” can mean many openings, fast growth or many new jobs. We show each BLS measure as its own column instead of hiding them in a score, so you can sort by the one that matters to you.
Quick answer
BLS projects the most annual openings for fast food and counter workers: about 827,400 a year on average from 2025 to 2035. Most openings come from turnover in large occupations, so 8 of the top 25 by openings are projected to shrink. 60 occupations combine growth of at least 7% (twice the all-occupations rate) with 10,000 or more openings a year. Openings are projected averages, not current job listings.
Data Projected openings are BLS's annual average for 2025–35: openings from growth plus openings to replace workers who leave the labor force or move to other occupations. They are not current job vacancies or listings.
Growing and hiring
High openings and fast growth together
Data Occupations with growth of at least 7% and at least 10,000 projected openings a year, by openings.
Top 100 by openings
Occupations with the most projected openings
Data Filter by typical entry education or pay; re-sort by growth, new jobs or pay.
| Occupation | Typical entry education | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast food and counter workers | 827,400 | +5.8% | +223,300 | $31,200 | No formal educational credential |
| Home health and personal care aides | 760,500 | +18.1% | +847,300 | $35,800 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Cashiers | 521,300 | -6.5% | -200,600 | $32,880 | No formal educational credential |
| Retail salespersons | 520,600 | -0.3% | -14,000 | $35,410 | No formal educational credential |
| Stockers and order fillers | 430,700 | +8.9% | +250,700 | $37,330 | No formal educational credential |
| Waiters and waitresses | 423,100 | +2.0% | +46,500 | $35,230 | No formal educational credential |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 340,500 | +1.8% | +51,600 | $40,240 | No formal educational credential |
| Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | 321,800 | +2.2% | +53,600 | $36,840 | No formal educational credential |
| Customer service representatives | 289,500 | -5.3% | -141,800 | $44,770 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| General and operations managers | 285,000 | +5.0% | +181,300 | $105,770 | Bachelor's degree |
| Office clerks, general | 249,000 | -6.0% | -156,200 | $45,010 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Cooks, restaurant | 218,600 | +12.1% | +171,400 | $37,390 | No formal educational credential |
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | 214,500 | +3.8% | +83,800 | $58,640 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Nursing assistants | 196,200 | +2.6% | +39,000 | $42,260 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Registered nurses | 180,800 | +5.6% | +194,700 | $97,550 | Bachelor's degree |
| Teaching assistants, except postsecondary | 176,200 | -0.3% | -4,900 | $36,780 | Some college, no degree |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners | 175,500 | +0.6% | +7,400 | $35,510 | No formal educational credential |
| First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers | 171,500 | +5.4% | +67,100 | $44,080 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive | 163,900 | -6.0% | -114,100 | $47,540 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Security guards | 156,000 | +0.9% | +11,300 | $38,020 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Childcare workers | 150,300 | -2.0% | -19,900 | $34,980 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 149,500 | +4.7% | +55,600 | $39,150 | No formal educational credential |
| Maintenance and repair workers, general | 148,700 | +4.2% | +68,600 | $49,590 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | 144,100 | -5.6% | -85,600 | $50,670 | Some college, no degree |
| Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators | 138,700 | +1.1% | +14,900 | $44,650 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Food preparation workers | 135,700 | -3.0% | -27,200 | $35,320 | No formal educational credential |
| First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers | 127,400 | +0.1% | +900 | $69,500 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Bartenders | 121,200 | +5.0% | +37,900 | $34,340 | No formal educational credential |
| Construction laborers | 120,000 | +7.3% | +109,300 | $47,120 | No formal educational credential |
| Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel | 115,700 | +2.7% | +33,900 | $69,990 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Accountants and auditors | 115,300 | +5.0% | +79,400 | $83,680 | Bachelor's degree |
| First-line supervisors of retail sales workers | 113,500 | -3.7% | -52,500 | $48,520 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Medical assistants | 109,700 | +12.9% | +107,600 | $45,690 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Light truck drivers | 107,200 | +6.3% | +67,800 | $44,860 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop | 107,100 | +3.4% | +15,300 | $31,200 | No formal educational credential |
| Receptionists and information clerks | 105,100 | -1.7% | -16,000 | $38,010 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Amusement and recreation attendants | 100,400 | +3.7% | +15,200 | $32,150 | No formal educational credential |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products | 99,800 | -0.9% | -11,200 | $72,080 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Software developers | 95,300 | +10.2% | +174,700 | $135,980 | Bachelor's degree |
| Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers | 95,300 | +5.3% | +28,900 | $33,980 | No formal educational credential |
| Management analysts | 94,100 | +10.1% | +109,200 | $101,860 | Bachelor's degree |
| Medical secretaries and administrative assistants | 89,200 | +4.8% | +47,100 | $45,930 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Elementary school teachers, except special education | 87,500 | -0.4% | -5,800 | $63,970 | Bachelor's degree |
| Cooks, fast food | 86,400 | +0.6% | +3,600 | $30,890 | No formal educational credential |
| Market research analysts and marketing specialists | 82,000 | +7.0% | +66,300 | $78,760 | Bachelor's degree |
| Project management specialists | 76,500 | +6.7% | +73,200 | $102,320 | Bachelor's degree |
| Human resources specialists | 73,700 | +6.4% | +60,100 | $75,940 | Bachelor's degree |
| Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists | 73,400 | +7.7% | +45,900 | $35,790 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Electricians | 72,700 | +9.2% | +75,900 | $63,190 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse | 72,500 | -2.4% | -13,200 | $35,660 | No formal educational credential |
| Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers | 70,800 | -3.4% | -26,500 | $89,900 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Dishwashers | 68,900 | -1.0% | -4,800 | $34,810 | No formal educational credential |
| Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors | 68,000 | +7.3% | +28,500 | $47,160 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Recreation workers | 67,000 | +4.3% | +15,000 | $36,560 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers | 67,000 | +5.0% | +46,100 | $79,920 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Preschool teachers, except special education | 66,700 | +4.5% | +26,200 | $38,140 | Associate's degree |
| Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers | 66,700 | +2.5% | +15,200 | $48,570 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Automotive service technicians and mechanics | 66,200 | +5.0% | +40,900 | $50,620 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Financial managers | 65,600 | +9.7% | +84,900 | $166,570 | Bachelor's degree |
| Substitute teachers, short-term | 65,000 | +2.0% | +10,900 | $41,670 | Bachelor's degree |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators | 64,700 | +1.5% | +11,100 | $46,420 | No formal educational credential |
| Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education | 63,500 | -0.2% | -2,500 | $72,040 | Bachelor's degree |
| Cooks, institution and cafeteria | 62,900 | +2.8% | +12,600 | $37,450 | No formal educational credential |
| Animal caretakers | 62,800 | +12.1% | +44,100 | $35,360 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Carpenters | 62,800 | +3.9% | +35,000 | $60,580 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Medical and health services managers | 62,300 | +24.2% | +155,100 | $123,860 | Bachelor's degree |
| Packers and packagers, hand | 61,800 | -5.0% | -27,500 | $36,280 | No formal educational credential |
| Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks | 61,300 | -7.6% | -62,800 | $45,260 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| First-line supervisors of production and operating workers | 61,000 | +1.8% | +12,400 | $74,450 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Bus drivers, school | 56,500 | +0.7% | +2,900 | $47,920 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors | 54,900 | +3.0% | +18,800 | $62,890 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Computer and information systems managers | 53,500 | +15.8% | +108,100 | $175,140 | Bachelor's degree |
| Dental assistants | 53,000 | +7.4% | +28,800 | $48,070 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses | 51,800 | +3.0% | +19,700 | $64,400 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Police and sheriff's patrol officers | 51,500 | +3.5% | +24,200 | $76,210 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Cleaners of vehicles and equipment | 51,500 | +3.9% | +16,300 | $35,830 | No formal educational credential |
| Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors | 50,500 | +18.4% | +98,000 | $59,350 | Master's degree |
| Self-enrichment teachers | 50,000 | +3.5% | +14,600 | $46,800 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Construction managers | 49,700 | +9.1% | +55,200 | $114,990 | Bachelor's degree |
| Social and human service assistants | 48,900 | +7.4% | +34,200 | $45,930 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers | 48,900 | +4.1% | +25,500 | $79,860 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Food servers, nonrestaurant | 48,800 | +4.5% | +13,300 | $35,360 | No formal educational credential |
| Sales managers | 47,300 | +4.5% | +29,000 | $148,270 | Bachelor's degree |
| Buyers and purchasing agents | 47,200 | +6.0% | +30,800 | $77,710 | Bachelor's degree |
| Counter and rental clerks | 46,100 | +3.0% | +12,400 | $41,300 | No formal educational credential |
| Training and development specialists | 46,000 | +10.8% | +51,100 | $69,280 | Bachelor's degree |
| Driver/sales workers | 45,500 | +7.9% | +35,200 | $38,770 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers | 45,400 | +5.5% | +8,900 | $33,580 | No formal educational credential |
| Pharmacy technicians | 44,700 | +6.4% | +30,100 | $45,750 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Industrial machinery mechanics | 44,400 | +17.8% | +79,700 | $64,520 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants | 43,300 | +0.0% | -100 | $76,590 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Insurance sales agents | 43,100 | +3.3% | +18,800 | $62,280 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 42,000 | +6.8% | +34,500 | $63,800 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders | 41,400 | +4.1% | +15,600 | $43,220 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Paralegals and legal assistants | 40,800 | -0.3% | -1,100 | $62,890 | Associate's degree |
| Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | 40,600 | +10.9% | +48,200 | $61,010 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 40,300 | +2.4% | +10,300 | $53,750 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Computer user support specialists | 39,700 | -3.5% | -26,200 | $61,860 | Some college, no degree |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators | 39,200 | +4.6% | +22,300 | $59,850 | High school diploma or equivalent |
| Food service managers | 38,800 | +5.8% | +19,900 | $69,390 | High school diploma or equivalent |
Nothing matches these filters.
Which jobs have the most openings?
Fast food and counter workers, with about 827,400 projected openings a year (BLS 2025–35).
Are these current job openings?
No. They are BLS projections of average annual openings over 2025–35, including openings created when workers leave. They are not job listings.
Why not one demand score?
Openings, growth and new jobs answer different questions. Combining them hides the trade-offs, so each is shown separately.
Method
How this page is built
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, detailed occupations with at least 5,000 jobs in 2025, excluding residual 'all other' categories. Openings = annual average occupational openings (growth plus separations). No composite score is used.
What this page can't tell you
Sources- Hiring at a specific employer or place.
- Certainty: projections are revised every year.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, Occupational projections, 2025–35 (released Aug 27, 2026; occupation.xlsx, Tables 1.2 and 1.10; retrieved Oct 25, 2026). Definitions.