The Job Front: Where are the jobs?

Knowing which industries are hiring – and which are not – will provide you with valuable information for planning and managing your job search. You’re bound for greater success if you search for opportunities within growth industries rather than those not thriving in our current economy.
One of the best resources for finding that information is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), which has data on industries, professions, salaries, geographic locations and more. Most valuable are the data on industries that are thriving today and projected to grow in the years to come.
Here are a few highlights to help set your job search on the right course. In April, employment in:
Professional and business services grew by 65,000 jobs, with the largest increase in management and technical consulting. Total growth from January through April was 611,000 new jobs.
Health care grew by 44,000 jobs. Year-to-date growth is 502,000 jobs.
Financial-related jobs increased by 20,000 with a total year-to-date increase of 160,000.
Manufacturing increased by 4,000 new jobs. That’s a reversal after 45,000 jobs were lost in February and March.
Construction had strong growth in March with 41,000 new jobs.
Retail was down by 3,000 jobs, but monthly job growth averaged 53,000 over the first three months of 2016.
The veteran unemployment rate continues to be 1.1 percent lower than the national unemployment rate. Veterans are clearly in high demand in the civilian workplace.

Wendy Enelow is co-author of “Modernize Your Résumé: Get Noticed ... Get Hired” and “Expert Résumés for Military-to-Civilian Transitions.”