The U.S. economy had been chugging along pretty well – that is, until the outbreak of the new coronavirus. The first case of COVID-19 in America was identified in January in Washington. As of February 2020, the economy still was adding jobs and the unemployment rate had dropped slightly to 3.5% from 3.6% in January. But by mid-March, the virus had reached all 50 states and was taking a toll on the economy.
The first proof of the damage the coronavirus pandemic was wreaking came with a Labor Department report on March 19 showing a spike in jobless claims from COVID-19 related layoffs. Since that report was released, economists have been predicting that unemployment will surge and a recession will be inevitable.
The retail, restaurant, and travel and leisure industries already have been hit hard as a result of social distancing requirements in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Other industries also are feeling an impact and more will, too, if there is a recession. The question, then, is which sectors might be more insulated from an economic downturn.
No job is truly recession-proof, but there are certain industries that will provide better job security than others. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, GOBankingRates identified five sectors that fared better during the Great Recession of December 2007 through June 2009 and should see lower unemployment rates than other sectors if the economy falls into a recession soon.
If you’re in one of the worst jobs during a recession, you might want to consider looking for a new job in one of these industries.
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Rehabilitation Counselor
- Median hourly wage: $17.13
- Median annual wage: $35,630
As with most jobs in the healthcare and social assistance field, demand for rehabilitation counselors is expected to grow along with the increase in America’s elderly population. This job requires a master’s degree and involves helping people with physical, mental, emotional or developmental disabilities live independently.
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Technical Writers
- Median hourly wage: $35.54
- Median annual wage: $71,850
Writers who can prepare instruction manuals, how-to guides and journal articles are in demand. Employment growth for this job is expected to be 8% over the next several years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Methodology: GOBankingRates gathered unemployment data by industry from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the years 2007 through 2020. With this data, GOBankingRates looked at the five following factors: (1) November 2007 unemployment rate by industry; (2) peak unemployment rate by industry during the Great Recession (December 2007 through March 2010); (3) percent chance of unemployment rate by industry during Great Recession from November 2007 to peak during Great Recession; (4) February 2020 unemployment rate by industry; and (5) potential future recession peak unemployment rate, which was calculated by multiplying factor No. 3 by factor No. 4 and adding back to factor No. 4. Factors No. 1 and 3 through 5 were then scored and combined with the lowest score being best to determine the industries that are the most recession-proof. Factors No. 1 and 4 were weight 1/2 times during ranking. All data was up to date as of March 23, 2020.
