What are the best jobs to look for during the pandemic? Here’s what experts say
If you’re looking for a job during the coronavirus pandemic, some positions may be worth a close look.
That’s because companies in several fields may be searching for prospective employees, career experts told multiple news outlets.
So, where can you find work?
As retail stores close and health officials urge people to stay at home, online shopping has surged, MarketWatch reported. So, job seekers may want to check for positions at logistics or shipping companies, according to the news outlet.
“They’re really willing to take on people that they know are coming from different backgrounds,” career coach EB Sanders told MarketWatch.
During the coronavirus outbreak, job openings have been announced at Amazon, Walmart and other companies that sell food and household necessities.
Career experts also think hiring will continue at companies that do work related to the coronavirus response, according to multiple news outlets. Those include biotechnology firms and medical suppliers, Fortune and NPR reported earlier in the pandemic.
As people work out of the office, technology companies could also be hiring, Fortune reported.
What are some other job possibilities?
Some past rankings may provide additional insight into careers to try out.
After COVID-19 started its spread across the United States, career website Glassdoor said the most job openings were for “registered nurses, communications associates and social workers,” according to a post from mid-March.
LinkedIn listed the “most in-demand jobs during the coronavirus” included those in the logistics, health care and technology fields. Opportunities in education, construction, services and accounting also made it in the top 10, the results from late March show.
In recent weeks, the unemployment rate has spiked, reaching 14.7% as of May 8, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More jobs were lost last month than during the Great Recession, which went from about the end of 2007 to 2009, Forbes reported.
An analysis of that period and the recession of 2001 found some jobs offering essential services such as waste collection stuck around.
“Firefighters, family therapists, police officers and paramedics were recession-proof too,” job search company ZipRecruiter said in its findings last year. “Wildfires, divorces, crime and accidents didn’t fall with the markets.”
But during those times, there were losses in other fields that were expected to hold strong, such as tax and funeral preparation, according to ZipRecruiter.
“There probably isn’t a recession-proof career field,” Michelle Terrell, internships and workforce services director at Valencia College, told NPR for an April piece about entering the job market after college.
People always should think about opportunities to use their skills or build new ones, the news outlet reported.
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 3:00 PM with the headline "What are the best jobs to look for during the pandemic? Here’s what experts say."
