If you grew up in the 70s and early 80s you may have spent your formative years expecting to work 20 or 30 years in a manufacturing plant. If you grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, you may have carved a career path geared toward financial services.

It goes without saying that both the national and Long Island job markets have experienced significant changes in the past 40 years. Not only are there fewer options for employment in the manufacturing and financial sectors, the idea of remaining with a single company your entire life now seems as antiquated as a rotary phone.

Determining  tomorrow’s jobs can influence you toward adopting skills that will increase your marketability and avoid pursuing jobs in declining industries. In a 2015 report published by the Long Island Index, HR&A advisors produced a comprehensive report detailing the outlook for prospective jobs within numerous Long Island industries.

Overall Projections Through 2040

As with most areas in the U.S., the healthcare and social service industries are expected to experience major gains over the next 25 years.

Construction, professional, scientific, waste management and technical services are also positioned to achieve robust job growth.  The real estate, recreation and transportation industries are expected to see minimal or possibly negative growth. Finance, manufacturing and retail trades are predicted to encounter significant loss in job opportunities.

Bet on Biotech

The report also found that the biomedical and biotech industries on Long Island are ripe for growth and development.

Currently, these industries only account for approximately 1.4 percent of all jobs on Long Island. However, the local industry – anchored by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Stony Brook University – is highly clustered. Many other regions have leveraged their biotech cluster into tens of thousands of well-paying jobs. Furthermore, Long Island biomedical jobs comprise more than double the segment of employment in the local economy as they do in the United States as a whole.

Citing San Diego as a case study, the report stated that smart land-use policies, and the fostering of nonprofit institutions, allowed this California city to translate research conducted at its academic institutions into business activity and job growth.

New York State Supporting Job Growth

The report also noted that New York has enacted numerous policies that will boost economic development on Long Island. With backing from the state, the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council is taking a multi-pronged approach by capitalizing on local assets already in place. The council’s plan includes establishing industry clusters in transit-oriented areas with energetic community life, developing facilities for incubating and acceleration of product commercialization, as well as stimulating manufacturing by moving to advanced technology products.

Long Island Temps has seen these changes coming and has proactively responded to them for years. If you’re looking to get a jump start in the local job market, contact us today so we can help you to hit the ground running.