Both the education and government employment sectors have remained relatively untouched by the economic recession.  Not to say that there haven’t been any layoffs in either sector all together, but they have at least remained fairly stable through the ups and downs of the job market in the past year and a half.  The transportation sector has not been so lucky. 

The education sector is one that is always in demand.  As populations grow and cultures thrive, education becomes more and more important.  Teachers and other educators will therefore likely always be an in demand group of people.  Government employees, who make up nearly 1 in 4 American workers, have enjoyed sector job growth under GW Bush as well as the Obama Administration.  George W. Bush’s Administration saw the largest government office and job creation ever between the years 2001 and 2008.  The Obama Administration will likely keep that ball rolling, considering the large stimulus bill that was passed earlier this year.  It is little wonder then why these sectors have been relatively sheltered from the economic downturn and recession.

Educators, by nature, are typically concerned with the plight of their students relative to the progression of society toward a more and more educated workforce.  The Obama Administration has, on many different occasions, stressed the importance of education as well as recognizing those whose efforts often go unnoticed and underappreciated- the teachers.  According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the unemployment rate in the education field has risen since 2008, but not by the same levels that most other sectors’ rates have.  In fact, the sector’s unemployment rate has increased to 3% in 2009, up from just 2.4% in 2008.  This sector has one of the lowest unemployment rates of any of the sectors measured by the BLS.

The government job sector will likely continue to see a rise in the number of employees over the next decade.  Oversight has to exist for the giant government stimulus as well as all the new “green collar” jobs the Obama Administration is proposing.  Depending on the way the 2012 elections turn out, the government job sector could very well turn out to be one of the most secure and fastest growing sectors tracked by the BLS.

The BLS also tracks figures for transportation workers and the unemployment rate for this sector has more than doubled from 6.3% in 2008 to 13.7% in 2009.  These numbers reflect the unemployment rates for transportation workers in the production, transportation, and materials moving job sectors.  This sector has been hit hard due to the bankruptcy of GM and all the auto industry suppliers and manufacturers in the chain of supply for GM and other struggling US auto makers.

The transportation and materials moving sector, apart from the production sector, has seen an almost identical doubling of its unemployment rate over the same period.  It remains to be seen whether the transportation sector will regain many of the jobs it lost in 2008 and 2009.  Any sort of meaningful recovery likely hinges on a broader general economic recovery from the global recession.  Until then, transportation-related job sectors do not look promising.