MARCH 2008 :: CAREERS

Who's Hiring?
Bright Spots in the Job Market

By Kristen Gerencher and Andrea Coombes
MarketWatch

Despite a weakening economy, the job-market picture appears to signal steady growth at many of America's biggest employers, with retiring baby boomers and the weak U.S. dollar creating new opportunities in some surprising areas.

Here's a look at some of the bright spots.

RETAIL: Among the many retailers that will be looking to staff new stores in 2008: Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, plans to add 25 million to 27 million square feet of new store space among its Wal-Mart Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Clubs, spokesman John Simley says. That translates into 220 new stores in the U.S. this year, including some that are relocations or expansions, he says. A Wal-Mart store generally requires a couple hundred workers, Mr. Simley says. "With every new store, there are entry-level positions and there are supervisor positions, management positions."

J.C. Penney estimates it will have 7,500 positions to fill next year, spokesman Tim Lyons says. "We opened 50 stores [in 2007] and our plan is to continue that pace approximately through 2011," Mr. Lyons says. A J.C. Penney store typically requires 150 to 200 workers, and finding experienced retail managers, supervisors and associates remains a top recruiting priority, he says.

CVS Caremark expects to add an unspecified number of new positions, including pharmacists, to work in all parts of the company-mail, specialty and retail pharmacies, spokeswoman Carolyn Castel says. CVS Caremark also plans to hire nurse practitioners as it expands its seven-day-a-week retail health-clinic business called MinuteClinic to new locations, she says. "We added 300 MinuteClinics [in 2007] and expect to be in that same arena in '08."

GLOBAL SKILLS: Sometimes skills and not specific job titles come into favor. This year professionals who speak multiple languages or who have lived in other countries may find their skills newly valuable as more companies seek to do business on a global stage, says John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a firm that helps displaced workers.

"The global economy is growing by leaps and bounds, and U.S. businesses' participation in that growth is key to the success of our economy in the short term and the long term," Mr. Challenger says. "If you're a small manufacturer and you wanted to grow your business overseas-and as a small manufacturer the weak U.S. dollar might help you a little bit-you might say I need to hire people to count on to manage relationships I'm starting with customers in South America or suppliers in China."

"What's exciting about it is first- and second-generation Americans who have cultural ties, birth ties, to other countries may be able to overcome some obstacles that face immigrants and their children because of the demand for people to understand how to fit into those countries," he adds.

HOSPITALITY AND HEALTH CARE: The hospitality sector also looks set for growth, says Sophia Koropeckyj, economist at Moody's Economy.com, because "there's been a lot of hotel construction and also because there are a lot of international tourists coming in to the U.S.," thanks to the weak dollar. The leisure and hospitality sectors are expected to add 1.9 million jobs from 2006 to 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Health care will continue to see strong demand among a broad swath of positions encompassing direct patient care and related fields. Nurses, physical therapists and pharmacists are especially sought after, Mr. Challenger says. Opportunities also will abound in energy, both among the traditional oil, gas and nuclear-power sector and in development of "green" technology and alternative energy sources, he says.

TEACHING, SALES AND VOCATIONAL FIELDS: Other jobs that employers can't fill fast enough are sales representatives, teachers and mechanics, says Melanie Holmes, a vice president who's involved in work-force development at Manpower Inc.

"Sales representatives are the No. 1 talent shortage we see in the United States," she says, noting the broad category has been the top crunch area for the past two years. "I don't see that changing."

Over the next decade, "there are a large number of teachers who are nearing retirement and who will have to be replaced at all levels of education," says Jon Sargent, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job prospects for mechanics are ramping up as fewer people take up the trade and as industrial machinery proliferates in U.S. factories, says Arlene Dohm, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Everything is automated in manufacturing now, and as machines are replacing people, people to work on the machines are needed more," she says.

Technicians, managers and executives, truck and delivery drivers, accountants, laborers and machine operators also are in demand, Ms. Holmes says, noting that most of these jobs are safe from potential outsourcing.

BANKRUPTCY LAWYERS: While the outlook for mortgage brokers is expected to decline in the wake of the housing downturn, people involved in working out loans, collections or selling foreclosed real estate may hear their phones ring more often, says Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, a consulting firm that closely tracks financial services and related firms.

"If you're a bankruptcy attorney, now your day is coming," Mr. Johnson says.

ROUGH SPOTS: Which jobs and industries are likely to see declines? Almost anything connected to the housing business: bankers, lenders, Realtors, construction companies, mortgage brokers, insurance carriers, home-improvement stores, home-materials manufacturers and furniture retailers. Even architects and engineers might see a weaker job market.

The manufacturing sector continues to lose jobs. And though the weak dollar helps U.S. exports, that hasn't translated into more jobs, because of weakness in the domestic economy. Automakers and related auto-parts suppliers and dealers may see still more layoffs.