Human Resources Career Field

Human Resources Careers Outlook

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment of human resources, training, and labor relations specialists and managers is expected to grow faster than the average career through 2014. There are several reasons for this expected demand. As jobs grow more specialized, complex, and often technological in nature, employee recruitment and training becomes increasingly important. In response to this trend, employers are expected to place more emphasis on job-specific training programs. If this is the case, human resources professionals will be needed to design, implement, monitor, and evaluate these training programs.

A second reason for the strong demand for human resources professionals is that many aspects of personnel management are now governed by legislative action. Specific standards for occupational safety and health, equal employment opportunity, wages, and benefits make it necessary for many companies to have human resources experts handling their personnel issues in order to avoid errors and omissions. Of particular significance are the rising health care costs and the structural changes that have taken place in many companies’ insurance packages. As benefits programs become more complex, human resources professionals who are familiar with program requirements and options become more valuable.

The hiring of labor relations staff and arbitrators is also likely to increase, as companies work toward resolving labor disputes on their own rather than in court. There may also be an increased demand for specialists in international human resources management and human resources information systems.

Employment growth may be especially strong in companies that recruit, manage, and supply personnel to other companies. An increasing number of businesses are opting to contract out for personnel management or hire personnel specialists on a temporary basis. Demand should also be especially strong in companies that specialize in developing and administering employee benefits packages for other companies.

In spite of the strong demand for human resources professionals, however, the job market is expected to be competitive in the coming years, due to the large pool of qualified college graduates and experienced workers in this area. Job growth may also be somewhat limited by the increasing use of computers in various aspects of human resources management. Finally, employment in human resources, as in other areas, may be slowed in some cases by corporate downsizing and restructuring and the use of computerized human resources information systems that allow workers to accomplish more tasks in a shorter period of time.

Related Career Fields:

Related Career Clusters:

Business, Management, and Administration

Related Careers:

Accountant and Auditor Career
Business Managers
Career and Employment Counselors and Technicians
Cost Estimators
Employment Firm Workers
Ergonomists
Executive Recruiters
Management Analysts and Consultants
Occupational Safety and Health Workers
Personnel and Labor Relations Specialists

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