glossary

What a job outlook / employment projection is

BLS 2024–34 projections estimate how an occupation may change in size — a forecast, not a guarantee.

Build my personalized career plan

BLS 2024–34 projections estimate how an occupation may change in size — a forecast, not a guarantee.

What it means

An employment projection is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' estimate of how many people may be employed in an occupation a decade out. The current set covers 2024 to 2034.

The headline number is usually a percent change: a positive figure means BLS projects the occupation to grow, and a negative figure means BLS projects it to decline over the period.

A projected decline does not mean an occupation disappears, and a projected growth figure does not mean every entrant finds a role — it describes the occupation's expected net size, not your individual outcome.

Projections are modeled forecasts, so they are not a guarantee of hiring, placement, or future demand for any single person.

RoleMath uses these figures as occupation-level planning context and never as a promise about jobs, income, or earnings.

Core source records

This table lists the page’s core content records and when they were checked. Claim-specific citations appear beside the relevant text and may not be repeated here.

IDSupportsSourceChecked
CIT-01BLS publishes 2024-2034 occupational employment projectionsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employment Projections Occupational Data Table 1.22026-06-25
CIT-02BLS frames outlook as occupation context in the Occupational Outlook HandbookU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Outlook Handbook2026-06-07

Ready to turn this decision into a plan?

RoleMath planner