This special report showcases the seismic shifts that have taken place as a result of COVID-19.
As expected, the pandemic has elevated the need for medical professionals. Equally powerful is the digital transformation of the world economy, as unstoppable momentum has catalyzed a shift into more remote work.
Demands for talent have changed dramatically, and a clear picture has emerged — validated by exclusive data insights from LinkedIn.
This 2021 report will help you understand the skills and trends around the fastest growing jobs, and how to hire for them.
Learn more about each category of Jobs on the Rise
The pandemic has profoundly disrupted the global economy — creating the need for professionals in many facets of healthcare.
Healthcare supporting staff
Demand for frontline workers is strong as we continue to navigate the pandemic. Many of these roles can be trained remotely, and don’t require a four-year degree.
Top titles Medical Screener, Respiratory Therapist, Health Coach, Home Health Aid, Paramedic, Pharmacy Technician, Healthcare Consultant, and Patient Care Assistant/Technician
Top skills Patient safety, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Top regions New York City metropolitan area, San Francisco Bay Area, Atlanta metropolitan area
Nurses
This is a heavily female talent pool — 82% of hires in 2020 were women. Most roles require a BA degree (all except nurse practitioner).
Top titles Nurse, Intensive Care Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Emergency Room Nurse, Certified Nursing Assistant, Registered Nurse, and Director of Nursing
Top skills Patient education, Inpatient care, Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
Top regions New York City metropolitan area, Greater Chicago area, Detroit metropolitan area
Mental health specialists
Dealing with the pandemic is extremely stressful for many people. LinkedIn data shows 23.7% year-over-year (YoY) growth among mental health professionals, as well as professional and personal coaches.
Top titles Mental Health Counselor, Mental Health Specialist, and Behavioral Health Technician
Top skills Working with adolescents, psychotherapy, crisis intervention
Top regions Greater Boston, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Greater Phoenix area
Your guide to job descriptions
Explore details on all aspects of job descriptions — how to write them, where to share them, and ways to optimize for search engines.
Digital platforms are more important than ever to our everyday lives. The primary ways we communicate and consume information now happen in front of screens. The demand for digital skills is increasing, with no signs of slowing down.
Artificial intelligence practitioners
Demand is strong for tech professionals with artificial intelligence experience. In fact, this was the top emerging job trend from last year’s report.
Top titles Machine Learning Researcher, Machine Learning Engineer, and Artificial Intelligence Specialist
Top skills TensorFlow, Scikit-Learn, Python
Top regions San Francisco Bay Area, Denver metropolitan area, Austin, Texas metropolitan area
Digital marketing professionals
We’re spending increasing amounts of time in front of screens, consuming more information online. This has led to the rise of digital content creators.
Top titles Social Media Marketing Specialist, Digital Specialist, Digital Marketing Director, Digital Marketing Specialist, Digital Coordinator, Search Engine Optimization Specialist, Social Media Manager, Social Media Director, and Social Media Coordinator
Top skills Search engine optimization (SEO), social media, marketing strategy
Top regions San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Boston, Greater Seattle area
Data science specialists
According to the 2020 U.S. Emerging Jobs Report, data roles, specifically data scientist and data engineer roles, are increasing steadily — reflecting about a 35% average annual growth for both roles.
Top titles Data Management Analyst, Data Scientist, Data Science Specialist, Data Engineers, and Data Architect
Top skills Tableau, SQL, R
Top regions Washington, DC–Baltimore area, Greater Chicago area, Atlanta metropolitan area
Digital content creators
The majority of digital content creators have only a BA. About 25% have an MA. Past roles include Artist, Illustrator, and Writer.
Top titles Podcaster, Blogger, YouTuber, Content Developer, Content Specialist, Content Writer, Content Strategist, and Content Producer
Top skills Editing, writing, public speaking
Top regions New York City metropolitan area, Greater Houston, Greater St. Louis
User experience professionals
UX designer hires in 2020 were 57% female. The total number of UX designer hires in 2020 is more than 5x the hires made in 2019 (increasing from 2,535 to 15,664).
Top titles UX Consultant, UX Design Specialist, UX Researcher, and Product Design Consultant
Top skills User-centered design, usability testing, InVision
Top regions San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Chicago area, Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
Specialized engineers
These roles have the highest percentage of remote job openings, compared to other roles featured in this report. Only 22% of 2020 specialized engineering hires were women — creating the opportunity for more diverse hiring.
Top titles Back-End Developer, Full Stack Engineer, Front-End Engineer, Site Reliability Engineer, Cloud Engineer, and Cloud Architect
Top skills JavaScript, Python, HTML
Top regions San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Greater Seattle area
How to hire candidates in your industry
Learn how to find candidates, craft enticing job descriptions, and ask the right interview questions for your industry.
The rise of remote work creates a democratization of opportunity, and a movement of skills all around the country. Companies in primary cities can hire talent from underrepresented groups. And in secondary cities, companies now have access to talent with a different set of skills.
Education professionals
With more children studying at home, there’s been a sharp increase in tutoring roles. Education has seen a lot of change and disruption, leading to a 20.8% YoY growth rate.
Top titles Teaching Assistant, Academic Tutor, Middle School Teacher, Curriculum Developer, Educational Consultant, Instructional Designer, Spanish Teacher, Social Studies Teacher, Mathematics Teacher, and Pod Teacher
Top skills Community outreach, staff development, educational technology
Top regions New York City metropolitan area, Greater Phoenix area, Greater Boston
Loan and mortgage experts
Interest rates are at a historic low, as the US government responds to the economic impact from the pandemic. So this job trend has increased significantly, with 58.6% YoY growth.
Top titles Loan Consultant, Mortgage Loan Officer, Loan Officer, Financial Representative, and Mortgage Loan Processor
Top skills Refinance, mortgage lending, US Federal Housing Authority (FHA)
Top regions Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex; Washington, DC–Baltimore area
Professionals on the frontlines of e-commerce
The pandemic has increasingly turned shoppers online, creating high demand for e-commerce jobs. Of the total number of people in these roles, 25% have an associate degree.
Top titles Personal Shopper, Fulfillment Specialist, Package Handler, Delivery Driver, Stock Clerk, Warehouse Team Lead, and E-commerce Coordinator
Top skills Sales, inventory control, forklift operation
Top regions Greater Chicago area, Greater Philadelphia, Nashville metropolitan area
Business development and sales professionals
Hires for these roles have increased 45% YoY. And not all employees transitioning into business development have come from a sales background. Some past roles include Customer Service Representative, and Administrative Assistant.
Top titles Strategic Advisor, Inbound Sales Specialist, Sales Operations Specialist, Business Development Consultant, Business Development Representative, and Sales Consultant
Top skills Leadership, sales management, strategic partnerships
Top regions New York City metropolitan area, Detroit metropolitan area, Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area
Professional and personal coaches
Coaches come from a range of backgrounds, including fitness instruction, sales, and executive leadership. Women accounted for 67% of coaches hired in 2020.
Top titles Career Coach, Life Coach, Health and Wellness Coach, Success Coach, Fitness Coach, and Career Counselor
Top skills Event planning, leadership development, nonprofit organizations
Top regions New York City metropolitan area, Salt Lake City metropolitan area, Greater Tampa Bay area
Experts in workplace diversity
Employees in diversity roles come from backgrounds in Education, Human Resources, and Program Management. The total number of hires has increased by 64% YoY.
Top titles Diversity Officer, Chief Diversity Officer, Head of Diversity, Diversity Manager, Diversity Coordinator, and Inclusion Aide
Top skills Leadership, event planning, community outreach
Top regions New York City metropolitan area, Washington, DC–Baltimore area, Portland, Oregon metropolitan area
Methodology
“Jobs on the Rise” are defined as the career categories that have seen the highest year-over-year growth rates in hiring (as reflected in the April 2020 to October 2020 timeframe).
LinkedIn Economic Graph data scientists have looked at over 15,000 job titles to uncover the jobs that have grown the most, compared to 2019 levels.
Those titles were then grouped into overarching career trends that capture as many as 25 job titles within each category. Each trend summary calls out the three largest job titles within that trend. Career trends are ranked using a combination of year-over-year growth rate combined with the raw size of the job demand.
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