Charting A Course:
Responding to the Industry-Related
Instructional Needs of the Limited
English Proficient

Appendix B

Additional Labor Market Information

The information that follows is included in this appendix as substantiation for the recommendations included here.

According to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), eight of the thirteen industries losing the largest number of jobs over the last five years fall within the manufacturing sector. Occupations within the staffing patterns of these industries have also seen large net job loss over the last five years. The following chart lists the industries with the greatest net job loss between the first quarter of 1999 and the first quarter of 2004.

While occupations associated with these industries are declining, as are those within other industries that have had large negative percent changes in employment, occupations in health care and computer software fields are projected to grow the most by the year 2012.  

Six of the ten fastest growing occupations in the nation will be in health-related fields and three will be in information technology-related fields. Given the increasing parallel nature of the Texas and U.S. economies, projected occupational growth in Texas will largely mirror these national growth patterns. The following chart depicts the occupations expected to grow the fastest by the year 2012.

Industrial and Occupational Demand for Skilled Workers

The need for workers will continue to occur in industries with the greatest replacement demand and in the industries that are expanding and adding new jobs, even where “churning” within businesses causes shifts in job duties, as well as in the skill sets associated with those newly created or altered jobs. The following table shows the current employment strength in the top ten largest NAICS industries:

The top five industries currently have a large employment base and are also expected to be the five industries in Texas experiencing the most net new job growth during the 2002 to 2012 time period.
The following chart depicts the preliminary projections for the top five NAICS industries expected to add the greatest number of net new jobs by the year 2012. Each of these industries but one, retailt, also falls within the top six industries projected to grow at the fastest rate in the state by 2012.

Occupational growth will also occur within the industry staffing patterns of these industries, adding the most jobs in Texas. Again, given the increasingly homogenous nature of the Texas and U.S. economies, Texas occupational job growth is expected to be consistent with that of the national economy, including the top four occupations adding the greatest total number of new jobs by 2012.
Another analysis of jobs critical to the state’s economy involves identifying occupations with the greatest number of projected new job openings due to growth and high replacement demand for existing jobs. Those occupations that are predicted to experience at least 50 percent net new job growth and that have the greatest replacement demand are critical in terms of high volumes of job openings to be filled. The following occupations are included in the list:

• Elementary School Teachers
•  Secondary School Teachers
• Registered Nurses
• Child Care Workers
• General and Operations Managers
• General Office Clerks
• Retail Salespersons
• Cashiers
• Food Preparation/Serving Workers
• Waiters/Waitresses
• Janitors/Cleaners.

Another critical segment of the economy is that of the export industries within the state, in particular those that are increasing their global competitive advantage over time.  Having a skilled workforce to support the addition of any new job growth and the state’s capacity to retain a skilled labor pool for the export industries on the following chart is also crucial to state and regional economic development.

However, many occupations with the greatest replacement demand and total number of new job openings by 2010 do not fall into the category of the highest wage or highest skilled occupations. The following five occupations are among the top ten occupations in the state projected to have the greatest total number of job openings by 2010 and the highest absolute employment gain by 2010: