Sept. 28, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT

Where the jobs really are

Online job ads show where to find employment growth

By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) Unemployment remains high and the job market is tough for many. But people still need other people to repair their cars, do their accounting, repair computers, write apps and even sell them things. And there currently are more opportunities in those occupations than others, according to online job postings.

Computer software engineers for applications and salespeople are among occupations with relatively healthy growth in online job postings, according to career services company Monster Worldwide. 

Some technical occupations lost jobs during the recession as firms put a hold on special projects, but now theres a resurgence, said Jeff Quinn, a senior director of research for Monster Worldwide.

At some point, companies had to make the decision to move forward with their technology projects. There are certain areas like security and privacy that have to be maintained if they are going to run their business, Quinn said.

Other areas are growing because employers want to expand, and need personnel.

As we have come out of the recession, we have seen sales jobs pick up. A lot of companies are trying to find ways to grow their business, and they are looking to hire great sales people, Quinn said.

Demand for retail salespeople should also grow with the holiday hiring season. And as businesses grow, there should also be demand for finance and accounting jobs, according to Monster. Further, low mortgage rates are supporting a steady flow of refinancing within the consumer loan market a trend that helps loan officers.

Monster used several criteria to find occupations with relatively good job posting growth throughout the Internet over the past 120 days compared with the prior year. Each occupation has a minimum of one job posting for every 10 members of the employed work force in that category, and total postings over 120 days range from about 200,000 to more than one million.

Heres are some examples of occupations with relatively good online job ad growth:

• Industrial engineers, over the past 120 days online job postings are up 28% from the prior year.

• First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers and repairers, up 25%

• Automotive specialty technicians, up 24%

• Mechanical engineers, up 21%

• Sales agents, financial services, up 20%

• Retail salespeople, up 19%

• Electrical engineers, up 17%

• Loan officers, up 16%

• Computer software engineers, applications, up 14%

• Accountants, up 12%

However, job seekers should be aware that not all advertised jobs may be available. Some postings are for old spots. For other jobs there may already be a shoo-in candidate. Read more about dead-end postings.

Quinn noted that not all types of jobs are posted: For example, we might not see a landscaper posting on Monster looking for people to work on his crew or we may not have companies posting jobs for CEOs. Many of these jobs have traditionally been word-of-mouth.

Noticeably absent are health-care jobs: Health-care occupations did not see the same declines as other occupations, so we might not see the same strong growth as we might with those that declined during the recession, according to Monster.

Opportunities despite tough times

With a national unemployment rate of 9.1%, the economy is still missing millions of jobs, and it may seem improbable that there are open positions, not to mention strong growth for certain occupations. But even in tough employment environments with many employees wary of leaving their job, workers still move around, experts said.

Even in an economy with a lot of slack in it, there are always jobs to be filled, said Harry Holzer, a public-policy professor at Georgetown University. There are new jobs created. There are old jobs that are experiencing turnover. The problem is there arent enough of them for all of the unemployed workers who want them.

For example, within leisure and hospitality theres a relatively high rate of quitting, while theres a relatively low quits rate in government, according to Labor Department data.

Meanwhile, theres also opportunity for creative minds, said Larry Katz, a labor economist at Harvard University.

Writing apps is a growing sector that didnt exist several years ago, Katz said. For high-end creative jobs there still is a lot of demand, whether its content for a new mobile device, or for entertainment. Even in a downturn people still seem willing to splurge on these kinds of things.

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Yeah I know, no railroad jobs. Sorry. Reality bites. Really.

But if you're a furloughed railroader (Former rail...) ya gotta make mortgage payments, eat, feed the family, pay for that brand new truck...

So whatcha gonna do?