Fears of a recession are intensifying, and the murmurs coming from Wall Street to the White House are becoming too strong to ignore.
President Joe Biden recently said a recession is “not inevitable,” though private equity firms and a good portion of Americans beg to differ.
Consumer confidence has declined and prices and market sentiment have reflected this decline. The S&P 500 index plunged to its worst performance in the first half of the year since 1970 as a result of a number of factors including price increases and the Fed’s interest rate hikes.
Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) estimate a 30% chance of a U.S. recession in the following year.
But, for many people it already feels like it has arrived; according to a CivicScience poll conducted in May, 44% of Americans think the country is already in a recession.
For additional data, in the spring and summer of 2022, a slew of tech and fintech companies are preparing for recession via layoffs. These companies are letting go of sizable portions of workforces, anywhere from 0.27%, to 85% of staff.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CNBC wrote that the manufacturing and construction industries saw significant declines in employment during the Great Recession, which ran from 2007 to 2009.
This is sector rotation as part of the economic cycle. The cycle can be simply defined as when the economy moves from a growth stage to a recession and back to growth.
For the Americans that have already been laid off or sense that layoffs are on their way; they’re left to ask themselves — what jobs will be in demand during a recession?
These include:
- Health Care
- Food
- Consumer Staples
- Utilities
Some sectors will outperform when the economy is in a recession, as noted above. These sectors can also benefit from being considered essential industries during a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the entry-level positions in these sectors include:
Health Care
- Medical Records Processor
- Medical Billing
- Medical Receptionist
Food
- Restaurant Team Member
- Server
- Busser
Consumer Staples
- TSA Customer Service Rep.
- Customer Success Manager
- Quality Manager
Utilities
- Associate Cell Tower Tech
- Corrosion Technician
- General Laborer
Whether there is a recession or not, Americans still require access to utilities, food, health care and other basic services. Although the aforementioned industries are less susceptible to changes in interest rates, they would probably increase retail prices to cover rising manufacturing costs and unanticipated supply chain disruptions.
Photo: Mark Umbrella via Shutterstock
