Seven Hot Job Areas With Worker Shortages

Published on Jul 13, 2011

Updated on Nov 3, 2022

Written by Emsi Burning Glass

image of Lightcast gradiant

Believe it or not, there are fields where workers are still in demand. In some cases, very high demand.

This is something we touched on in our skills gap webinar yesterday and a recent post.

Here are the seven jobs that have growing talent gaps:

Cloud Developer – 0.32 active job seekers for every job opening (in other words, there are three open positions for every one available job seeker)
Average Salary: $100,000
Career opportunities in this space have multiplied with the exponential growth of data and the corresponding need to store and manage it.  Demand will continue to grow as companies look to increase capacity and function without having to build new infrastructure.

Registered Nurse – 0.38 active job seekers for every job opening
Average Salary:  $65,000
A staple on lists of worker shortages, nursing is one of the most challenging areas for recruitment.  In addition to a growing demand for healthcare services, enrollment in nursing schools is trending down due to a lack of nursing faculty.

Business Intelligence Analyst – 1.01 active job seekers for every job opening
Average Salary:  $98,000
This hybrid position that combines technical know-how with business and market insights is becoming increasingly critical as companies place a greater emphasis on business analytics.  Companies are leveraging the value they have in their existing data streams and warehouses to make smarter business decisions and create better tools for customers.

Manufacturing – Quality Engineer – 1.05 active job seekers for every job opening
Average Salary:  $68,000
The Manufacturing sector is making a comeback as the economy recovers and exports grow stronger to meet the needs of emerging markets.

Truck Driver – 1.37 active job seekers for every job opening
Average Salary:  $41,000
While life on the road has distinct advantages, extended time away from home, long hours on your own and dealing with traffic are among challenges that can make these positions hard to fill.

SEO Strategist – 1.75 active job seekers for every job opening
Average Salary:  $70,000
With high Internet penetration in markets across the globe, there is a greater need for individuals who can bring more traffic to company websites by elevating their ranking in unpaid and paid search engine results pages.  Companies with a large Internet presence are bringing these skills in-house to build effective and relevant sites.

Healthcare Administrator – 2.25 active job seekers for every job opening
Average Salary:  $88,000
An aging population and over 30 million Americans newly insured as a result of healthcare reform are fueling the need for more medical services and professionals who can keep operations flowing smoothly.