Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
Since 1998 most sectors saw growth except Manufacturing and Information, although these are still sectors with high numbers of employees and high wages. The largest share of job gains has been in health care and social assistance. From 2016 to 2017, the biggest gains were in Accommodation and food services and Health care. Sectors with the largest losses since last year are Other services and Retail trade.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Over time an increasing share of Vermont’s workforce has come to reside outside the state. This chart shows that the employment is rising faster than the resident labor force. This means that Vermont employers are importing more and more workers to fill jobs. This explains part of the divergence between the growth in number of jobs with a relatively flat Vermont workforce.
Source: National Science Foundation
Growth in STEM Occupations over the last decade has been greatest in computer sciences. But given the aging Vermont workforce, even fields where there have been limited gains or a slight decline in number of jobs, Vermont will require large numbers of highly skilled and trained workers to fill openings in the coming decades.
Source: 2000 Census Table DP-1, American community survey 1-year estimates
While Vermont’s population has been effectively flat for over a decade, its composition is changing rapidly. A growing share of Vermonters are over 50. With no population growth this means a steady decline in the proportion of Vermonters who are in the early stages of career and business development, as well as family formation.