The Best Industries to Hire in for 2024

The job landscape today looks vastly different than it did a year ago. Employee job satisfaction is at a record high as unemployment rates hit all-time lows, making it a strong candidate market. On top of that, over 9 in 10 of HR professionals report feeling emotionally fatigued from more resignations and harder recruitment this past year.

To successfully expand their workforce and fill specific roles, it’s important for hiring managers to know which industries and roles are in the highest demand for top-tier candidates. Let’s explore the trends driving recruitment for the year ahead and which industries hiring managers should focus on for 2024.

Trends Impacting Hiring in 2024

The job market has stabilized in many ways since the pandemic, yet hiring continues to pose a challenge for organizations. Managers surveyed across several polls noted that company growth and employee turnover were the dominant reasons for hiring in 2024.

When asked about the biggest challenges facing employees hiring in 2024, the top responses included:

• The rise in the total number of applicants per hire (178 percent increase from Q3 2021 to Q2 2023)
• Difficulty finding talent with the required skill sets (70 percent)
• Meeting candidates’ rising salary expectations (45 percent)
• Stagnated or decreasing annual recruiting budgets (53 percent)

These challenges show that to attract top talent in the current job landscape, hiring managers need to consider the fierce competition, job flexibility, and access they have to specialized skills. With that in mind, let’s examine which industries offer the most opportunities and possibilities for hiring in the year ahead.

Top Industries Hiring in 2024

As we enter the third quarter of 2023, some industries are primed for accelerated growth in the following year. Below is a list of industries hiring candidates with the most opportunities for long-term placement and growth.

1. Healthcare

According to a recent press release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the healthcare sector is projected to grow faster than any other sector and create nearly half (45 percent) of new jobs between 2022-2032. This growth is driven by increased annual healthcare spending, groundbreaking advancements in medical technologies, and an aging population. More specifically, health services managers (144,700), nurse practitioners (118,600), and physician assistants (39,300) are expected to see significant increases in new job creation over the next decade.

2. Cybersecurity

Cybercrime is growing at an alarming rate, with 1 in 31 organizations experiencing a weekly ransomware attack during Q1 of 2023. To guard themselves against rising cyber attacks and security threats, computer and mathematical occupations, especially cybersecurity, are expected to see 15 percent growth in the next 10 years.

There is ample competition for top cybersecurity positions, with unemployment at nearly 0 percent. This means that hiring managers should think carefully about the salary, benefits, and work flexibility offered in their cybersecurity job packages.

3. E-Commerce

The e-commerce industry has continued to boom following the pandemic, and it’s expected to add nearly 570,000 new jobs by 2032. This growth will primarily be driven by employment in warehousing, transportation, and the courier messenger sector. As consumers want products delivered faster than ever, hiring for jobs supporting the e-commerce supply chain will be a heavy focus for many hiring managers.

4. Biotechnology

In the past five years, the number of people employed in biotechnology increased by 5.2 percent and is expected to continue growing by 10,600 jobs annually until 2032. Biotechnology scientists and technicians are paramount to the future of medical research and development for the human body. As our population lives longer and there’s a greater focus on medical innovation, jobs in the biotechnology sector will be highly sought after.

Since biotech is a vastly specialized field, hiring managers are encouraged to source candidates from adjacent industries who may have comparable relevant skills. Candidates in medical/technical writing, healthcare informatics, data science, and agriculture science may have the right scientific background and training to pivot into a biotechnology career.

5. Construction

Coming out of the pandemic, construction spending is booming. As a result, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) forecast needs 546,000 additional construction workers on top of the “normal pace of hiring” in 2023 and beyond.

As Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO, stated, “The construction industry must recruit hundreds of thousands of qualified, skilled construction professionals each year to build the places where we live, work, play, worship, learn, and heal. As the demand for construction services remains high, filling these roles with skilled craft professionals is vital to America’s economy and infrastructure rebuilding initiatives.”

6. Finance and FinTech

Similarly to construction, there is a rise in the need for financial analysts as business activities pick up. The overall employment of Financial Analysts, especially at technology organizations, is expected to grow 8 percent in the coming decade.

Experts attribute this growth to the growing global reach of organizations, leading to them needing more support in evaluating investment opportunities and offering expertise in geographic regions. Hiring in FinTech is expected to remain high despite recent tech layoffs due to the need for businesses to manage their finances, identify investments, and deliver new products/services remains strong.

7. Computer Systems Designs

Although the tech industry isn’t seeing job growth universally, computer system designs and related services industries are considered the eighth fastest-growing industry between 2022 and 2032, according to the BLS. The industry is forecasted to add 474,800 new jobs, the second highest next to healthcare, in the coming decade.

8. Data Scientists and Statisticians

As more businesses and consumers expand their digital presence, there has been a significant rise in the amount of data generated. This has led to a demand for data scientists, statisticians, research analysts, and actuaries trained in modeling, analyzing, and interpreting the ever-growing data. BLS predicts that the compounding problem will result in a 20 percent increase in employment change, with data scientists in the highest demand.

9. Renewable Energy

With greater government funding for renewable energy generation and advancements in renewable energy infrastructure, hiring in this sector is expected to grow. Employment for wind turbine technicians is expected to skyrocket 44.9 percent from 2022 to 2032, the fastest occupation growth of the decade. Additionally, although manufacturing jobs have slowed in growth recently due to increased production automation, experts expect it to result in greater employment growth for electric battery production.

As hiring managers look to expand their workforce in manufacturing and labor, they’re encouraged to place candidates in roles that focus on renewable energy and conservation efforts.

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