Which Jobs Are Safest In Tough Economy?

Insurance, Engineering Listed Among Safe Bets

In an uncertain economy, workers face uncertainty in their jobs. Of course, that depends on their chosen career path: Some jobs seem to be more recession-proof than others.

According to Monster.com's 2008 Hiring Outlook, the workers most in demand even in a down economy are those who excel in the logical and mathematical, including those in areas such as systems design, electronic engineering, accounting and, yes, finance.

"The demand for accounting and tax professionals is outweighing resources, across the U.S. and in China, the U.K. and Russia," said Eileen Raymond, executive director of experienced-hire recruiting at accounting firm KPMG. "We're looking for CPAs and professionals with advanced degrees, law degrees.

Based on its 2007 statistics, the job-matching Web site Jobfox.com, like Monster, sees a demand for professionals in accounting and finance.

Just as demand is rising for these services, the supply is dwindling. "There are fewer and fewer students obtaining these degrees," Hope Wilson, a vice president at Snelling Professional Services, told Monster earlier this year.

Similarly, a lack of new engineering graduates is also creating a strong market for engineers, Monster reported. Monster also points to an annual survey commissioned by staffing firm Manpower that highlights occupations that employers have a hard time filling.

Among white-collar jobs, the following positions make Manpower's 10 Hardest Jobs to Fill list: engineers, technicians, sales reps, accountants and IT staff. And on the blue-collar side, the list includes machinists and machine operators, skilled tradespeople, mechanics, laborers and production operators.

Insurance Provides Job Security

While insurance may not be the most glamorous industry in America, it does offer some things many other fields cannot: stability, challenge and growth almost no matter what else is going on in the economy.

Eric Schulting, enterprise recruiting and retention manager for State Farm Insurance in Bloomington, Ill., told Monster: "There are a lot of benefits and advantages in insurance that you don't have in other industries." One of those benefits is that the insurance industry is fairly recession-proof, since Americans need insurance whether the economy is up or down and most insurance companies tend to be fiscally conservative.

But the industry is not without challenges. If gas prices rise too high, consumers may decide to own (and insure) fewer cars, and fewer home sales mean fewer homeowners' policies sold. When unemployment rises, so do theft and arson, and, therefore, hazard insurance claims.

Experts' Opinions Differ

In addition to Monster's Hiring Outlook, several other experts have offered opinions and lists that predict the most recession-proof jobs -- and they mostly differ from each other.

In his recently released "Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets," author Peter Schiff foresees the rise of industries and professions such as engineering, construction (to rebuild the American infrastructure), agriculture (to become more independent from food imports), merchant marine (to transport food to foreign markets) and commercial fishing.

While Schiff sees a growth for these industries, he predicts the decline of banking and finance, real estate, travel and health care. In contrast, other experts see the health care industry as exceptionally recession-proof: Kiplinger.com reported that the health care industry is one of the nation's fastest-growing careers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas emphasizes the importance of health care for the job market as well as career information consultant Laurence Shatkin. On his Top 10 list of the most recession-proof jobs, Shatkin includes jobs such as registered nurse, physical therapist, dental hygienist, pharmacist and medical and health services manager.

Demand Rises For Education, Computer Systems

Challenger, Gray and Christmas, as well as Shatkin and Kiplinger, see a rising importance in educational jobs. Kiplinger reported that teachers for any grade level who specialize in math, science or bilingual education should have an easier time finding and keeping a job. College instructors also should have job security as college enrollment rises.

Geography also plays a part in job security. Teachers in fast-growing states in the South and West will have more opportunity, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

A parallel among the lists of Shatkin, Schiff and Jobfox involves the area of computer systems: According to all of them, network and system administrators, computer system analysts, data system analysts and software specialists will be in demand more than ever to maintain the U.S.' leading position in computers and high technology.

Green, Government, Delivery Jobs Stay Hot

Green jobs are also on the rise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects environmental careers to grow 25 percent over the next decade -- much higher than the average for other occupations.

Monster Worldwide data shows a steady increase in the number of environmental job postings since 2005, particularly for engineers, protection technicians and specialists.

This growth has been fueled by economic trends, with many jobs offered in the public sector, including positions at such bureaus as the Environmental Protection Agency.

Government jobs are also among the most stable around. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that firings and layoffs happen at one-fourth of the rate in the private sector because even when businesses have to downsize, the government must continue on. Only one in every 5,000 non-defense workers is fired for poor performance each year, the Cato Institute said. And even in our digital age, stuff still needs to get from here to there, whether the trip is across the warehouse floor or around the world.

That's why jobs for laborers such as freight, stock and materials handlers are projected to increase by almost 250,000 positions from 2004 to 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many of these jobs require few skills but pay $12 to $15 an hour, about double the federal minimum wage.

No Job Is 100 Percent Secure

Except on overall bad predictions for industries related to housing and to discretionary spending, the idea of which jobs are recession-proof often differs, depending on what expert one asks.

Because of that, Shatkin concludes in his book "150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs": "Nobody's job is 100 percent secure, but you can take steps to reduce your chances of being laid off in the event of an economic downturn and to increase your chances of bouncing back if you are laid off anyway."

As steps to reduce the risk of loosing one's job, J.D. Roth, author of the popular blog GetRichSlowly.org, advises his readers to develop their skill-set, to contribute valuably and to keep a positive attitude.

Because his opinion, after comparing different lists of recession proof jobs, is: "The most recession-proof job is the one you already have."