Some of the fastest-growing job searches in the US include several retail, technology, and transportation positions. And several jobs reflect the explosive growth of Amazon.
Mobile home park manager was the fastest-growing job title, up 811% year-over-year, a reflection of the strong growth in mobile home parks recently. Several retail or receptionist positions were in the top 20: cashier full time, cashier part time, teller full time, receptionist full time, and spa receptionist. Despite a tightening labor market, searches for lower-skilled jobs are some of the fastest growing, which may reflect lower-skilled workers entering the labor market, or that the recovery is still not providing the types of well-paying jobs that one might hope for.
Several cutting-edge technology positions are also among the top 20 fastest-growing job titles, which was calculated for the full year 2017 compared to the full year 2016. But these tech jobs are growing for completely different reasons than the retail/receptionist ones. Big data developer, full stack developer, cloud engineer, devops engineer—all of these positions utilize fast-evolving skills that are rare and hard to find. Full stack developer was the No. 2 fastest growing job through 2016 and devops engineer was No. 4. These jobs pay very well, thus attracting searches from skilled job seekers.
Transportation jobs like straight truck driver and Amazon driver indicate heightened interest in these positions, even though employers have faced difficulty in filling them. As for drone pilot—while a transportation job of sorts, its skyrocketing growth is due more to the underlying drone technology having evolved enough to create sufficient demand for skilled pilots.
Budtender—a retail worker at a medical or recreational marijuana shop—has been high (ahem) on the lists of fastest-growing job searches for a while. It was the No. 3 fastest growing job through 2016. As more states legalize medical or recreational marijuana, such job opportunities will emerge in this budding industry.
Finally, several jobs reflect the incredible growth of Amazon and ecommerce. Amazon driver, already mentioned, is one. Fulfillment associate, a warehousing/logistics position increasingly in demand by the company, is another; it’s the No. 6 job on this list this year. It was previously the No. 1 fastest growing job through 2016. Drone pilot, too, might reflect nascent experimentation Amazon has done with drone deliveries.