Assignment- Fastest-Growing Occupations
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, the careers listed in the following table were among the top twenty-five fastest-growing jobs, according to the percent increase in the number of jobs.
|
Occupation
|
2004
|
2014
|
% Change
|
Rank
|
|
Medical assistants
|
387
|
589
|
|
|
|
Preschool teachers
|
431
|
573
|
|
|
|
Computer software engineers
|
800
|
1168
|
|
|
|
Personal and home care aides
|
701
|
988
|
|
|
|
Physician assistants
|
62
|
93
|
|
|
|
Network administrators
|
278
|
385
|
|
|
|
Postsecondary teachers
|
1628
|
2153
|
|
|
|
Dental hygienists
|
158
|
226
|
|
|
|
Network systems and data communications analysts
|
231
|
357
|
|
|
|
Home health aides
|
624
|
974
|
|
|
What do all these fast-growing occupations have in common? They all require knowledge of math! For some careers, such as management analysts, registered nurses, and computer software engineers, the ways math is used on the job may be obvious. For other occupations, the use of math may not be quite as apparent. However, tasks common to many jobs, like filling in a time sheet, writing up an expense or mileage report, planning a budget, figuring a bill, ordering supplies, and even making a work schedule, all require math.
1. Find the percent change in the number of jobs available from 2004 to 2014 for each occupation in the list.
2. Rank these top-ten occupations according to percent growth, from greatest to least.
3. Which occupation was the fastest growing during this period?
4. How many occupations had 50% or more positions in 2014 than in 2004?
5. Which of the listed occupations was the slowest growing during this period?