2008 Hot Job List – The Top 10

Los Angeles (April 1, 2008) – College graduates beginning their careers this spring will find the job market offering a range of unique and highly-rewarding employment opportunities, according to industry research firm IBISWorld, Inc. (www.ibisworld.com). As one of the nation's most respected independent publishers of business intelligence research reports, IBISWorld today announced its top 10 industry picks offering the fastest growing number of jobs and growth in wages. But to find these jobs, graduates will need to do their research.

"Rather than targeting the traditionally popular or "sexy" industries, jobseekers should investigate the industries forecast for strong employment growth, and get ahead of the pack by targeting companies in those sectors now," said George Van Horn, a senior analyst with IBISWorld. "Research really is the key. Last year's top performing industries could be next year's slow movers, so knowledge is certainly power in today's fiercely competitive and ever changing job market. We believe there are 10 stand-out industries that every graduate should investigate this year with VoIP on top of the list."

VoIP To Create Jobs In 2008,

The industry leading the way in terms of employment growth over the next few years will be Voice Over Internet Protocol providers (VoIP), according to IBISWorld, with average annualized jobs growth of around 19.4 percent through 2012.

"This is the result of significant revenue growth forecast for the same period, driving more organizations to enter the industry, which in turn will boost employment. And as an emerging telecommunications service," said Mr. Van Horn. "There still is a reasonable way for the sector to go as it gains greater consumer and business acceptance. The outlook is good as household broad- band penetration is still rising, facilitating greater use of digital services and helping improve the call quality of industry services."

Fashion Design Services Offer Opportunities For Creative-Minded Graduates

Second on the 2008 hot jobs list is fashion design services. According to IBISWorld, opportunities for independent designers are expanding in response to the globalization of the fashion industry, as well as technological advancements in the industry.

"The ongoing trend of outsourcing discrete segments, or even total design contracts, to independent designers is boosting employment within what is typically a tough industry for jobs creation," said Mr Van Horn. He added, "Trailing the VoIP sector with employment growth predicted at 5.3 percent in 2008, the industry will still provide job growth far beyond many other segments despite difficult economic conditions."

Bridge and Tunnel Construction Industry Jobs To Grow Five Percent

Third in line is bridge and tunnel construction with employment growth estimated at five percent in 2008, as a result of overall industry revenue climbing seven percent to $23 billion this year, and by an anticipated 8.7 percent next year. As a result, industry employment will rise at least five percent in 2008 on the back of solid cyclical growth in the value of publicly funded bridge construction as the nation begins to repair and replace the countries aging infrastructure, not to mention new infrastructure to keep pace with traffic and rail demands around cities from coast-to-coast.

Physical Therapy Trending Up To Care For An Aging Population

Those seeking a stable career, in a potentially lucrative industry, should think about physical therapy, a career path which incorporates the fields of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Mr. Van Horn said Physical Therapy will drive job growth for years to come as aging Baby Boomers, as well as high school, college, and professional athletes often require extended periods of therapy to recover from painful injuries.

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics claims jobs in these professions are set to increase at a much faster rate than the average for other occupations," advised Mr Van Horn. He added, "IBISWorld predicts that significant growth in demand for these occupations estimated to be about 4.9 percent could well result in labor shortages over the next five years, which may negatively impact the sector's revenue growth by driving up wage costs."

IBISWorld 2008 Adds Interior Designer Positions To Its Hot Job List

"Employment in the interior design arena is growing with interior designers experiencing strong demand as American households and small businesses are driving a relatively new, but growing market," said Mr Van Horn.

He added, "As a result, we see an annualized employment growth rate for this sector in the range of 4.5 percent now through 2012. "Much of this growth will come from the hospitality sector, with designers being employed to remain competitive by redesigning and decorating hotels and restaurants.

This trend can best be seen in Las Vegas where the casinos and hotels are constantly expanding and reinventing their properties to keep visitors coming back year-after-year. On the commercial side of the industry, corporate clients are seeking to rejuvenate their office spaces, retail stores, and leisure facilities. Growth will also come from those looking to complete construction using environmentally friendly materials and designers promoting these services will reap rewards.

Home Offices Offers Savings For Employers and Employees Alike

Other trends promoting growth in employment include the popularity of home offices, the move towards larger bathrooms incorporating luxury items such as saunas, exercise areas and media equipment, and technological advances such as home networking and other systems to support modern living.

Interior designs to accommodate an aging population will also be a source of growth for the industry with homes being built with stair lifts, elevators and wider doorways – all using low maintenance materials.

Growth in Retirement Communities To Create Jobs

Looking ahead, IBISWorld also puts retirement communities near the top of the employment growth list for the years through 2013. The major driver behind this growth will be our aging population hiking up demand for medical services and assisted living or senior care facilities, including accommodation for the aged (particularly those aged 75 and older), and other health care services.

"Therefore, those whose employment involves caring for the elderly are unlikely to be out of a job over the next few years," said Mr Van Horn. "This segment will generate increased employment by 4.5 percent to service an ever increasing number of the aged, the U.S.' fastest growing population segment."

Mr. Van Horn added, "Over the next four years the number of people over 75 is projected to grow by 4.7 percent, compared to 4.4 percent for the population overall. At the same time, the average age of the elderly will rise, adding nine million people to this age bracket, up 15.8 percent through the year 2012.

Ambulance Services and Ambulatory Health Care Services

"The ambulance services industry is employing greater volumes of staff to meet the increasing demand for their services driven by changes in the delivery of health care, an aging population, and people insisting upon a heightened level of emergency response," said Mr. Van Horn.

"The result will be employment growth in the range of four percent, he added. "Other ambulatory health care services will also experience good employment growth of about 3.9 percent in 2008 and in the years ahead."

IT Support, CRM and Business Process Services

"While growth in the IT support, CRM, and the business process services sector will not attain the dizzy heights of the past decade, employment growth is still expected to remain solid at around four percent a year," said, Mr Van Horn. "The outsourcing of jobs to Asia is a primary factor in the slower employment growth rate for this industry." He added, "The result will be higher wages for local staff remaining in the industry as they were likely to be more highly-qualified and skilled."

Open-End Investment Funds

Last in IBISWorld's list of "top 10 industries for employment growth" is expansion in the number of open-end investment funds with a growth rate of 3.9 percent expected in 2008 following consistent returns over the past four years. This is a result of an increase in mutual funds, as well as additional enterprises within the field in recent years. IBISWorld believes any growth in mutual funds will be driven by "alpha" type funds which attempt to outperform traditional indices.

Show Us The Money

For graduates who will be choosing careers based on salary, Mr Van Horn said that Voice Over Internet Protocol Providers (VoIP) would easily outpace all other industries with average annualized growth in wages set to hit 21.8 percent – an impressive 16 percent ahead of its nearest competitors which includes technical and trade schools, test development, educational support services, and live music, production of special events and sports entertainment promotions – all with 5.7 percent growth in wages in coming years. The average annual wage for full-time employees in the US is currently $44,148, with IBISWorld earmarking growth of about 2.5 percent a year for the next five years.

Fashion Design Services, Social Advocacy Organizations, And Laboratory Testing Services

Other industries with wages growth likely to exceed five percent in coming years include: fashion design services (5.6 percent), social advocacy organizations (5.1 percent), and laboratory testing services (5 percent).

Other Sectors Present Hot Opportunities

As diverse as they are, jobs in search engines, racing and other spectator sports such as golf and boxing, together with lingerie, swimwear, uniform and bridal stores, round out IBISWorld's wages growth top 10 – all with a respectable 4.9 percent annualized growth rate. Increasing professionalism in sports, and an expansion in TV and other media sports programming are fuelling growth in wages as well, with rising player contracts driving up wages not just for the athletes themselves, but for every employee involved in the broader industry.

For example, while positions for professional athletes are limited, individuals involved in promoting, managing and umpiring our talented sports stars are enjoying strong wages growth, particularly coaches, managers, and sports marketers.

About IBISWorld

Founded in 1972, IBISWorld provides a unique and extensive online portfolio of business research and analysis products designed to serve a range of business, professional service and government organizations. Delivered through enterprise subscriptions, the company publishes in-depth reports on more than 700 industries and offers profiles on more than 8,000 U.S. companies. In addition, the company provides databases of economic analysis, demographic data, and risk assessment reports relevant to virtually every business sector. IBISWorld's materials are valued for the breadth and depth of the research and analysis covering the entire U.S. economy, incorporating both financial and non-financial information impacting tracked industries and companies. IBISWorld Business Information is well known for its accuracy, consistency and timeliness. This is why almost all online information aggregators seek us out to include our reports as part of their global databases. Current IBISWorld partners include Hoovers, Valuation Resources, Superfactory and American Small Business Development Centers. With U.S. headquarters located in Los Angeles, IBISWorld has offices in New York, Melbourne, and Sydney. For more information, visit www.ibisworld.com or call 1-800-330-3772.