Data story
Which jobs shrank and grew the most since 2012?
The biggest losses and gains in jobs from May 2012 to May 2025, counted the same way at both ends.
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Cite this page
Future History. (2026, November 1). Which jobs shrank and grew the most since 2012? https://futurehistory.earth/trends/jobs-that-shrank-and-grew
Future History. "Which jobs shrank and grew the most since 2012?" Data as of BLS OEWS May 2012 and May 2025. Last modified November 1, 2026. https://futurehistory.earth/trends/jobs-that-shrank-and-grew.
@misc{futurehistory_jobs_that_shrank_and_grew, author = {{Future History}}, title = {Which jobs shrank and grew the most since 2012?}, year = {2026}, month = nov, howpublished = {\url{https://futurehistory.earth/trends/jobs-that-shrank-and-grew}}, note = {Last updated 2026-11-01. Data as of BLS OEWS May 2012 and May 2025}, }
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Between May 2012 and May 2025, BLS OEWS counts fell for 145 and rose for 249 of the 394 jobs we can compare like for like. Retail salespersons lost the most: 4,340,000 in May 2012 and 3,897,860 in May 2025. BLS changed how it estimates these counts in May 2021, so part of a change across that year can come from the method rather than the work.
Data as of: BLS OEWS May 2012 and May 2025.
Lost the most jobs, May 2012 to May 2025
Retail Salespersons, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Office Clerks, General and 12 more below.
Gained the most jobs, May 2012 to May 2025
General and Operations Managers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses and 12 more below.
Solid where an official survey counted, hazy where a figure is researched, dotted where nobody counted. Past the last count, a river fans into its cited forecasts.
Lost the most jobs, May 2012 to May 2025
| Job | Jobs, May 2012 | Jobs, May 2025 | Change in jobs (change derived by Future History) | Percent change (change derived by Future History) | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Retail Salespersons | 4,340,000May 2012 | 3,897,860May 2025 | -442,140derived | -10%derived | |
| 2Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 2,085,680May 2012 | 1,706,790May 2025 | -378,890derived | -18%derived | |
| 3Office Clerks, GeneralThis count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed its method: read the change with care. | 2,808,100May 2012 | 2,464,940May 2025 | -343,160derived | -12%derived | |
| 4Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants | 803,040May 2012 | 459,910May 2025 | -343,130derived | -43%derived | |
| 5Helpers--Production Workers | 419,840May 2012 | 165,700May 2025 | -254,140derived | -61%derived | |
| 6Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 1,606,260May 2012 | 1,373,680May 2025 | -232,580derived | -14%derived | |
| 7Bill and Account Collectors | 385,890May 2012 | 158,830May 2025 | -227,060derived | -59%derived | |
| 8Cashiers | 3,314,010May 2012 | 3,089,410May 2025 | -224,600derived | -7%derived | |
| 9TellersThis count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed its method: read the change with care. | 541,770May 2012 | 329,480May 2025 | -212,290derived | -39%derived | |
| 10Telemarketers | 245,550May 2012 | 58,430May 2025 | -187,120derived | -76%derived | |
| 11Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products | 1,414,030May 2012 | 1,238,190May 2025 | -175,840derived | -12%derived | |
| 12Order Clerks | 208,800May 2012 | 75,200May 2025 | -133,600derived | -64%derived | |
| 13Childcare WorkersThis count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed its method: read the change with care. | 624,520May 2012 | 518,910May 2025 | -105,610derived | -17%derived | |
| 14MachinistsThis count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed its method: read the change with care. | 388,370May 2012 | 287,050May 2025 | -101,320derived | -26%derived | |
| 15Packers and Packagers, Hand | 660,670May 2012 | 559,820May 2025 | -100,850derived | -15%derived |
Gained the most jobs, May 2012 to May 2025
| Job | Jobs, May 2012 | Jobs, May 2025 | Change in jobs (change derived by Future History) | Percent change (change derived by Future History) | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1General and Operations ManagersThis count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed its method: read the change with care. | 1,899,460May 2012 | 3,503,020May 2025 | +1,603,560derived | +84%derived | |
| 2Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 2,143,940May 2012 | 2,950,280May 2025 | +806,340derived | +38%derived | |
| 3Registered Nurses | 2,633,980May 2012 | 3,379,720May 2025 | +745,740derived | +28%derived | |
| 4Human Resources Specialists | 394,380May 2012 | 912,430May 2025 | +518,050derived | +131%derived | |
| 5Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | 392,740May 2012 | 899,580May 2025 | +506,840derived | +129%derived | |
| 6Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 1,556,510May 2012 | 2,062,040May 2025 | +505,530derived | +32%derived | |
| 7Cooks, Restaurant | 1,000,710May 2012 | 1,409,890May 2025 | +409,180derived | +41%derived | |
| 8First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving WorkersThis count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed its method: read the change with care. | 817,600May 2012 | 1,223,240May 2025 | +405,640derived | +50%derived | |
| 9Computer and Information Systems Managers | 309,740May 2012 | 670,570May 2025 | +360,830derived | +116%derived | |
| 10Management Analysts | 540,440May 2012 | 898,280May 2025 | +357,840derived | +66%derived | |
| 11Financial Managers | 484,910May 2012 | 841,710May 2025 | +356,800derived | +74%derived | |
| 12First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers | 456,640May 2012 | 812,210May 2025 | +355,570derived | +78%derived | |
| 13Accountants and Auditors | 1,129,340May 2012 | 1,449,500May 2025 | +320,160derived | +28%derived | |
| 14Medical and Health Services Managers | 293,490May 2012 | 597,080May 2025 | +303,590derived | +103%derived | |
| 15Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 1,230,270May 2012 | 1,529,700May 2025 | +299,430derived | +24%derived |
How this list was made
- Each row compares two BLS OEWS counts for the same occupation code, May 2012 and May 2025, and the 15 largest losses and gains are ranked by the number of jobs. The change derived by Future History is computed from those two published counts.
- Why 2012: it is the first May survey published wholly on 2010 occupation codes. Earlier counts sit under 2000 codes, and some of those were redrawn in 2010 without changing their number, so a change across that revision can be a change of definition rather than of work.
- We also leave out the 26 jobs on our timelines whose code the 2018 revision split, merged or renamed (BLS 2010 to 2018 crosswalk), and any job whose count has a noted change of basis in between.
- Every change here spans May 2021, when BLS moved to a model-based estimate that pools three years of survey data. BLS republished the earlier years on that method only as research estimates, so the counts at the two ends were made in different ways. A row is marked when its step from May 2020 to May 2021 is at least 3 times the size of its typical other one-year step and at least a quarter the size of the whole change shown. 6 of the rows shown are marked.
What these numbers cannot tell you
- In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.
- BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.
- A count is a count of jobs, not of people: one person can hold two jobs, and the self-employed are not included.
Sources
- BLS OEWS national estimates, May 2012 and May 2025
- BLS, OEWS notice on the May 2021 estimates (new model-based method, MB3)
- BLS, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC crosswalk (November 2017)
- Each row also names the exact sources for its own figures.