And the jobs go to . . . those with bachelor’s degrees!

There’s good news for adults who make the decision to return to school to earn a bachelor’s degree. Timothy Sloate reports in the March, 2010 issue of the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) newsletter InFocus that significant changes can be expected in the U.S. labor market over the next decade. The number of jobs is expected to increase by 10 percent, with higher-paying jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree growing at a faster rate than overall job growth.

By 2018, there should be some 5 million more jobs for candidates with bachelor’s degrees. Jobs in the highest demand are expected to be in the business/management/financial and professional sectors.

Experts predict that the number of manufacturing jobs will decrease as professional jobs increase, particularly in areas like health care, technical fields, education, and computer/mathematical science. For those thinking of going into education, most of the new jobs will be in higher education and elementary school education.

There’s good news for older workers, especially those who have bachelor’s degrees. Sloate reported that the majority of workers added to the labor force between 2008 and 2018 will be 55 and older, and many will be career changers.