What are the most in-demand jobs in the USA? (2024)

In the past few years, job vacancies in America have grown to levels not seen since records began. With around 10 million positions currently open, it is a great time to look at a career in the country. What's more, many roles are expected to become even more needed over the next few years. We explore all of this below, in our guide to the most in-demand jobs in the USA.

What job roles have the most vacancies in the USA?

Official data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the job category with the most openings in the USA is healthcare and social assistance. In July 2023, there were around 1.71 million vacancies in this area, which accounts for nearly one in five of all job openings in the country.

Jobs in the category include both specialist medical roles and those that support them, often in an administrative capacity. This means everything from doctors to dentists and surgeons to speech therapists is covered, as well as secretaries, managers and transcribers.

One area in which demand is particularly high is home healthcare. Around 684,000 openings for home healthcare and personal aides are expected each year until 2032, when the total number of positions in the role is projected to be 804,000 higher than in 2022. This is the largest expected growth of any occupation in the USA, and reflects a trend towards healthcare being provided in home and community settings, rather than a clinical one.

Another role that holds great opportunity is that of nurse. Registered nurse jobs are projected to grow by 177,000 between 2022 and 2032, which is the fifth-largest expected growth of all occupations. Similarly, the related role of nurse practitioner is expected to undergo the second-fastest growth in that ten-year period. An additional 119,000 jobs are expected in the role by 2032, creating a total of 385,000.

Does working in health sound good to you? Take a look at our guide to the top medical schools in the USA.

The sectors with the next most job openings are trade, transportation and utilities (1.44 million) and professional and business services (1.43 million). As both are wide-ranging, it is worth breaking them down to look more closely at the opportunities they hold.

Occupations in trade and transportation include many at different stages of America's supply chain. Specifically, these can be jobs such as truck driver, warehouse operator and cashier, held by millions of people in the country. Utilities workers, meanwhile, focus on maintaining America's gas, electricity and water systems. As such, there is a great call for people with engineering degrees in this area.

If keeping the country's infrastructure going appeals to you, find out more with our guide to the best engineering schools in the USA.

Professional and business services is a very broad category, which covers everything from lawyers and accountants to security guards and cleaners. Both of the former two jobs are among the 20 with the largest expected growth up to 2032.

In 2022, there were 826,000 positions for lawyers in the USA, and this number is projected to grow by another 62,000 over the following decade. In the same period, the number of positions for accountants and auditors is projected to increase by 67,000, reaching a total of more than 1.53 million.

If one of these jobs has your interest, we can help. Begin exploring with our guide to the best law schools in the USA, or the best business schools in the USA.

What job roles are growing in the USA?

There are several more occupations for which job numbers are projected to grow considerably in the coming years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks these in terms of speed (percentage increase) and volume (overall increase). The top five on both measures can be seen in the tables below.

The fastest-growing jobs in the USA

The jobs with the greatest growth in the USA

As this shows, the most in-demand jobs in the USA will continue to be diverse. However, it is also clear that several of those listed above are best suited to students of science, technology, engineering or mathematics. To discover even more jobs along these lines, read our list of top careers for STEM graduates.

What jobs can help you get a USA visa?

Unlike some countries, the USA does not have an official list of jobs that can give extra support to visa applications. However, it does reserve some of the 140,000 employment-based visas it issues each year for people with certain qualifications, skills and experience.

Specifically, it offers 28.6 per cent of these visas (approximately 40,000) to applicants in each of the following three categories:

• EB-1: Priority Workers and Persons of Extraordinary Ability
• EB-2: Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons of Exceptional Ability
• EB-3: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers (Other Workers)

This is separate to the process for graduate work permits. If you intend to stay in the country after completing your education there, see our guide to applying for a post-study visa in the USA.

Keen to learn more about working in the USA post-education? Read our guides to the top graduate jobs and finding a graduate career in the country. Or, if you are already thinking about the part of the country in which you'd like to work, explore the cities with the best job markets in the USA.