The Most In-Demand Jobs for June 2020

As COVID-19 lockdowns begin to lift, job seeking has surged back to pre-pandemic levels. And while hiring has only just started to recover, there’s still substantial and growing demand for a number of jobs. 

Learning about the hottest jobs can be crucial for employers: If you’re hiring, it’s good to know where you’ll face the most competition, and can help manage expectations and inform compensation decisions.

New LinkedIn data on job postings from the past month shows how employers are prioritizing a broad mix of roles — from frontline jobs now recognized as essential, to operational roles that can help bring businesses back on track. One of the most sought-after roles on the market, however, has not changed since before the pandemic — software engineer.

This post is part of a monthly series where we will track the most in-demand jobs in the world and focus on the up-and-coming roles on the market, helping you inform your hiring strategy and outlook.

The most in-demand jobs overall include frontline roles responding to COVID-19

Nurses, drivers, and retail and food service workers have always been essential, but the pandemic has made their importance even more obvious, as this list reflects. 

Here are the roles that had the most job postings on LinkedIn in May:  

The Most In-Demand Jobs

1. Software Engineer
2. Nurse
3. Salesperson
4. Driver
5. Supermarket Department Specialist
6. Certified Public Accountant
7. Project Manager
8. Store Associate
9. Supply Chain Associate
10. Food Service Worker

Nurses are the second-most in-demand job, as hospitals across the world continue to battle COVID-19. Many hospitals are struggling financially as elective procedures are pushed off, but healthcare systems still have a high need for frontline clinicians. (Note that LinkedIn has given free premium job posts to healthcare organizations and other essential businesses since April, which may affect these lists. )

Accountants, project managers, and supply chain managers help businesses run like well-oiled machines, playing a critical role in maintaining operations. These roles are all the more important as companies deal with unprecedented volatility and on-the-fly adjustments. 

Software developer and engineering roles often top lists of this sort, as companies across every industry increasingly need tech talent. In a recent LinkedIn survey, 85% of software workers said they can be effective working remotely — a stat that may explain why demand for these roles has not been considerably affected.

Similarly, sales roles have long been in high demand — and are especially important in a moment when many consumers and clients are tightening their purse strings.

Demand is growing fastest for these roles in accounting, learning, and retail

While the previous list was ranked by overall volume of job posts, this next list will reveal which roles saw the biggest monthly increases — in other words, where demand is growing fastest.

Because of that, it magnifies some key short-term trends: the return of retail and a focus on operations. Just this week, the U.S. reported that retail sales rose by 17.7% in May, the largest monthly increase on record. That jibes well with the high number of retail jobs that we see on this global list. 

Here are the roles with the greatest increase in job posts in May: 

Jobs with the Fastest Growing Demand 

1. Certified Public Accountant
2. Training Supervisor
3. Cashier
4. Associate
5. Supply Chain Assistant
6. Freelance Engineer
7. Support Associate
8. Food Clerk
9. Translation Specialist 
10. Marketing Strategy Consultant

Certified public accountants are the sixth most in-demand job overall, but they top the list of jobs with the fastest growing demand. That could be because this tax season has been more unpredictable than most, and the fact that many businesses are seeing their finances strained. 

Demand for training supervisors has also skyrocketed recently — probably because many companies and workers are using this time to reskill. LinkedIn Learning, for example, reported a 3x increase in time spent learning after the outbreak of COVID-19.  

Interestingly, two of the jobs showing the fastest growth are for contractor roles: freelance engineer and marketing strategy consultant. This could indicate that companies are looking for extra flexibility or aren’t ready to commit to new full-time employees yet. 

Stay tuned for our release and analysis of June’s job posting numbers in July. 

Methodology

Based on global LinkedIn data on all premium job posts in May. The most in-demand jobs are those with the highest number of job posts. The jobs with the fastest growing demand are those with the biggest percentage growth in the number of job posts, from April 2020 to May 2020; jobs with fewer than 500 job posts in April were excluded. 

Note: In April 2020, LinkedIn began offering free premium job posts for healthcare organizations and other essential services, which may have increased job posts and views for those industries.

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