Special Report
13 Professions With the Highest Job Security
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Every month, millions of Americans leave their jobs, either because they are laid off or because they quit. While leaving work or quitting can be a step to a better job, most American workers likely seek stable, long-term employment.
Losing one’s job and being stuck in unemployment is far less likely in some occupations than in others. Those occupations that require high degrees of specialization, years of experience, and are in high demand tend to be highly stable jobs. Based on unemployment rates for hundreds of occupations provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 13 jobs with 0.5% unemployment or less. People who lose their jobs or otherwise leave these occupations either do not stay unemployed for long or retire from the workforce entirely.
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Most of the jobs on this list require at least some formal education beyond a high school diploma, and many require doctorates, residencies, and licensing. Those jobs with low unemployment rates that do not require a college degree — such as construction and building inspectors and stationary engineers, usually require years of skills developed on the job. The highly specialized nature of these jobs means there is a smaller pool of potential applicants and workers are less replaceable as a result.
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Wages in these occupations that involve high skill work and require significant training tend to be much higher than the average wages across all occupations. The average annual U.S. wage is $48,320. Only one of the 12 occupations on this list — directors of religious activities — have a lower average annual wage. Meanwhile, eight of the 12 have average wages of more than $70,000, including physicians, who make over $200,000 each year.
Workers in many of these fields are not just in high demand because they have specialized knowledge, but also because their fields are growing. The BLS projects overall employment will increase by 6.5% between 2014 and 2024. While projections are not available for all of these 13 occupations, many are expected to grow as fast or faster than the national job growth rate. The numbers of employed dentists, dental hygienists, and physicians and surgeons are projected to grow at more than double the national rate.
Unemployment rates in many of these jobs may be so low because these occupations are not just stable, but can come in the later stages of a career. People who leave these jobs are more likely to retire rather than continue looking for work. The typical worker in only three of the 13 occupations on this list is younger than the U.S. median worker age of 42.3 years. The typical construction and building inspector is over 50 years old.
To identify the easiest and hardest jobs to keep, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2016 unemployment rates among workers in 565 occupations provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers are considered unemployed based on the job they held most recently. Occupations with an experienced labor force of less than 50,000 were not included. An experienced labor force excludes new entrants or those entering the labor force for the first time. Estimated employment growth between 2014 and 2024, average 2015 wages, labor force totals, and typical education requirements for each job also came from the BLS.
These are the easiest jobs to keep.
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13. First-line supervisors of correctional officers
> Unemployment rate: 0.5%
> Average annual wage: $62,770
> Total employment: 61,000
Correctional officers have a dangerous and high stress position, and their supervisors work in similar environments. Still, they enjoy greater job stability than most occupations. Just 0.5% of correctional officer supervisors employed nationwide are looking for work. And with an average annual salary of $62,770, they also benefit from above-average wages. The average full-time worker across all occupations has an annual income of $48,320. Government positions tend to be more stable than those in the private workforce, which may explain the high job stability for these workers — first-line supervisors of correctional officers are disproportionately employed by states or municipalities.
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Source: Thinkstock
12. Dental hygienists
> Unemployment rate: 0.5%
> Average annual wage: $72,720
> Total employment: 169,000
Dental hygienists work in dentists’ offices, performing tasks such as teeth cleaning. While they do not have the level of training and expertise of dentists, they are still paid quite well, with an average annual wage of $72,720. Like Dentists, hygienists also have a great deal of job stability, with an unemployment rate of just 0.5%. Dental hygienists do not just have a low unemployment rate, but also they are in very high demand. The number of workers in the field is expected to grow by more than 18% over the next decade, far faster than the projected U.S. job growth rate of 6.5% over the same period.
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11. Physicians and surgeons
> Unemployment rate: 0.5%
> Average annual wage: $202,450
> Total employment: 1,061,000
The occupations that require the most education or professional experience often have the most job security. Most physicians and surgeons must complete four years of undergraduate school, four years of medical school, and between three and seven years in internship and residency programs before they can practice medicine professionally. The investment in higher education and training usually pays off, as physicians have some of the highest paying and most secure jobs in the country. The average physician earns $202,450 a year, more than four times the average annual wage nationwide. Just 0.5% of physicians and surgeons are out of work, nearly the lowest unemployment rate of any occupation.
Source: Thinkstock
10. Training and development managers
> Unemployment rate: 0.5%
> Average annual wage: $111,680
> Total employment: 58,000
Training and development managers are responsible for the training and continued development of an organization’s employees, and at larger companies may oversee a staff of training and development specialists. Responsible for the cultivation of an organization’s talent, such managers are often an indispensable part of any company. Just 0.5% of training and development managers are out of a job, far less than the 4.4% unemployment rate across all U.S. occupations. Most careers with high job security are also high paying. The average training manager is paid $111,680 annually, more than double the $48,320 average annual wage for full-time workers nationwide.
Source: Thinkstock
9. Veterinarians
> Unemployment rate: 0.4%
> Average annual wage: $99,000
> Total employment: 101,000
Occupations that require many years of formal education or specialized training often have the highest level of job security. Veterinarians must have a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, which typically takes four years to complete and is offered at some 30 accredited college programs nationwide. The average veterinary program accepts fewer than 50% of all applicants and often requires prospective students to have taken a number of animal science courses or to have accrued other related experience. Based on job stability and average wages, the investment is relatively safe. Just 0.4% of veterinarians are unemployed, tied with dentists and medical scientists as the seventh lowest unemployment rate for any single occupation. The average veterinarian earns $99,000 a year, more than twice the average salary across all occupations nationwide.
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8. Dentists
> Unemployment rate: 0.4%
> Average annual wage: $177,130
> Total employment: 163,000
High-skilled jobs that are also in high demand are more likely to offer long-term stability. Dentists are indeed in high demand. The BLS estimates the number of employed dentists to grow by 17.6% between 2014 and 2024, compared to the nationwide job growth rate of 6.5%. Dentists must undergo years of training and testing to be licensed, and specialists undergo an additional two to four years of residency. There are about 163,000 dentists currently practicing in the United States, and only a few hundred are unemployed.
Source: Thinkstock
7. Medical scientists
> Unemployment rate: 0.4%
> Average annual wage: $92,900
> Total employment: 154,000
Jobs with high education requirements often have fewer prospective employees. This frequently contributes to higher job security for individuals already in those roles. Medical scientists conduct research to improve human health, and they typically have a Ph.D. They are also some of the least likely workers in the country to find themselves out of a job. Less than half a percent of the 155,000 U.S. medical scientists are looking for work, a smaller unemployment rate than that of all but half a dozen other occupations.
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6. Police and sheriff’s patrol officers
> Unemployment rate: 0.3%
> Average annual wage: $61,270
> Total employment: 708,000
Police officers are far less likely to be unemployed than the vast majority of people working in other occupations. Of the 710,000 trained police officers, only 2,000 are looking for work, a 0.3% jobless rate. Unlike many jobs on this list, a college education is almost never required for a patrol officer. However, officers must complete a training academy program and meet a set standard of personal and physical criteria. Non-appointment government jobs are more secure than jobs in the private sector, and all police are employed by either their local, state, or federal governments.
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5. Occupational therapists
> Unemployment rate: 0.3%
> Average annual wage: $81,690
> Total employment: 118,000
Occupational therapy is one of the most in-demand jobs in the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Americans aged 65 and over will outnumber the population five years old and younger for the first time in history before 2020. As aging baby boomers will likely require increased medical attention over the next decade, the number of occupational therapists and other health practitioners will grow at nearly four times the average rate for all U.S. jobs. Occupational therapists currently enjoy the highest job security of nearly any major occupation, with an unemployment rate of just 0.3%.
Source: Thinkstock
4. Stationary engineers and boiler operators
> Unemployment rate: 0.2%
> Average annual wage: $60,480
> Total employment: 78,000
Stationary engineers and boiler operators require little formal education and learn a majority of their skills through on-the-job training that takes an average of four years and often includes 8,000 hours or more of training. More experienced stationary engineers and boiler operators may be difficult to replace, and as a result they enjoy a high degree of job security. Just 0.2% of stationary engineers and boiler operators are unemployed, far less than the 4.4% unemployment rate across all occupations nationwide.
Source: Thinkstock
3. Directors, religious activities and education
> Unemployment rate: 0.2%
> Average annual wage: $45,160
> Total employment: 78,000
Religious directors are responsible for planning and administering programs related to religious education. Their responsibilities include developing course curricula, training and supervising instructional staff, and providing counseling to community members struggling with marital, health, financial, and religious problems. Religious education directors may perform their job better the more familiar they are with the community they serve. As a result, an experienced director of religious education may be difficult to replace. Just 0.2% of religious education directors are unemployed, tied as the second lowest unemployment rate of any U.S. job. Wages for the position are fairly uncompetitive, however, with the average religious education director earning $45,160 a year — slightly less than the $48,320 average across all full-time U.S. occupations.
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Source: Thinkstock
2. Biological scientists
> Unemployment rate: 0.2%
> Average annual wage: $79,610
> Total employment: 96,000
Biological scientists work in laboratories, conducting and directing biological experiments. Like most other jobs with with such low unemployment, biological scientists are highly educated and highly paid. Biological scientists typically have a Ph.D, and the average salary in the field is nearly $80,000 a year. While biological scientists currently enjoy relatively high job security, the number of these jobs is projected to increase by only 3.7% through 2024, trailing the 6.5% growth rate across all occupations.
Source: Thinkstock
1. Construction and building inspectors
> Unemployment rate: 0.1%
> Average annual wage: $60,030
> Total employment: 93,000
Construction and building inspectors ensure that buildings, highways, streets, sewage systems, water systems, dams, bridges, and other structures are up to local and national standards and meet any other relevant specifications. Local building codes and zoning ordinances can be somewhat complex, and on-the-job training within a certain city or district may provide some practitioners with invaluable experience. Many construction and building inspectors may be difficult to replace, and partially as a result they enjoy high job security. Just 0.1% of construction and building inspectors are out of work, the lowest unemployment rate of any occupation.
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