7 Growing Careers With Strong Hiring Needs, Per BLS

The 7 Careers With the Most Annual Openings

The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects job growth to slow over the next decade. Its new employment projections show 5.9 million jobs added between 2025 and 2035, a 3.5% increase, down from 10.9% growth the previous decade. Even in a slower market, some careers keep hiring at scale.

Here are the seven careers with the most annual openings:

• Home health aides — 760,500 openings
• Registered nurses — 180,800 openings
• Software developers — 106,100 openings
• Electricians — 72,700 openings
• Medical and health services managers — 62,300 openings
• Mental health counselors — 50,500 openings
• Data scientists — 24,800 openings

These seven are highlighted for their high demand and significant annual openings. Home health aides lead the list by a wide margin. Registered nurses remain in demand even as nursing schools struggle with capacity. Software developers now prioritize experienced candidates, while electricians require long apprenticeships. Medical and health services managers are vital for expanding healthcare, mental health counselors are needed but require extensive education, and data scientists show rapid growth.

Home Health Aides and Registered Nurses

Home health and personal care aides lead the list with about 760,500 openings a year through 2035. They help clients bathe, dress, cook, get to appointments and manage daily life, and may monitor temperature, pulse and breathing under a nurse’s supervision. Median pay is $35,800, but direct-care workers earned just under $26,000 once part-time hours were included.

Registered nurses have about 180,800 openings a year, a median wage of $97,550 and 6% projected growth. Yet nursing schools turned away 93,176 qualified applications in 2025-26 due to limited faculty, clinical placements, preceptors, classroom space and funding. Nearly 17,000 rejections were in graduate programs that educate future faculty.

Software Developers and Electricians

Software developers, quality assurance analysts and testers have  about 106,100 annual openings and a median wage of $135,980. The field is still growing, but the door has narrowed. Senior roles accounted for 71% of the increase in postings between May 2025 and May 2026, and more listings included AI in the title. Software is still hiring; applicants are simply being asked to arrive with more proof they can do the work.

Electricians take a different route in. The path starts with a four- or five-year apprenticeship: days spent on job sites pulling wire, reading blueprints and working alongside licensed electricians, plus classroom instruction in electrical theory, safety and code. They earn while they learn. Once licensed, the work pays a median $63,190 with roughly 72,700 openings a year. Data centers have added pressure to an already tight field, with an estimated need for more than 300,000 additional electricians over the next decade.

Healthcare Managers, Mental Health Counselors, and Data Scientists

Healthcare also needs people to run the growing system. Medical and health services managers have 62,300 annual openings, a median of $123,860 and 24% projected growth. The role usually requires a bachelor’s degree and management experience. Healthcare and social assistance is expected to add more than 2.2 million jobs.

Counseling and Data Work

Substance abuse, behavioral disorder and mental health counselors have about 50,500 annual openings and a median of $59,350, with a master’s degree and state license typical. Data scientists have about 24,800 annual openings, 35% growth and a median of $120,230. A bachelor’s in math, statistics or computer science is common, and many employers prefer a master’s. BLS projects 95,400 new data-scientist jobs over the decade.

Healthcare appears four times on this list. Electricians and nurses face long training paths, counselors need graduate education, home health has a pay problem, and software hiring has a higher bar.