Have you ever heard Recession proof jobs, like bullet-proof-jackets?
Well some analysts belive that there are few domains and industries which can be categorized as recession-proof. Let see what those are ..
- Security: No Matter what the economy is, there would hardly be any cut in the security personnel like, police, law enforcement officers, customs, fire department, Shops/mall security etc. Rather there will be more security concerns during the peak of recession as the concern would be for increase in the crime rate.
- Personal Care: Jobs like, hair-dresser, beauticians etc might not have to feel that crunch as people still tend to go them irrespective of the recession.
- HealthCare: No matter what the market dictates, still people tend to take extra precautions and insurance to ensure that they dont fall sick and get hospitalized and run into major bills during this time of recession. and there would definetly be increase in the type of pressure borne patients.
- Education: being a student would be the best thing in life and no need to worry for next semester or academic year as hardly drop-outs happen during the recession period. However, i have seen an increase in the number of students going to colleges and taking admission in various new course which would help them to secure a new career.s
- Food-Industry: My Father used to say, this is the industry which will never fade away. We have to eat inorder to survive and we look for lesser expensive, yet better quality food even during the recession and this will ensure that the demand to be met and competition to increase , enables the jobs ofcourse at lower pays.
- Sales & Marketing: Anything to be sold has to be marketed and revenue can be generated only by sales and thus, in an economy like now, we will have more pressure on sales and ofcourse maintaining the low salaries.
- Accounting Services: For every expense made, there has to be accountability and accounts have to be maintained for everything. Like food industry, accounting is another never dying industry.
Every thing is common though, reduced pay is the most common...
Unfortunately no job is recession proof. While from one point of view they may seem recession proof, there is always another angle to the story. Here’s how I see these industries.
ReplyDelete1. Security: It’s true that there won’t be a cut in security personnel in roles such as defense, police, law enforcement officer’s customs and the fire department. If fact we may see some of the vacancies here getting filled up. Private Security though is another matter. We definitely will see a reduction/cut in jobs in this sector. Companies looking at cutting their expenses will sure give a shot a trimming the security force they have and optimizing the use of their security personnel. Companies going bust or closing down offices will no longer require security personnel for those places.
2. Personal Care: People will still go to their hair dresser or beautician but will they go there as often as they did before? With everyone trying to tighten their purse strings, surely these are some of the areas where they can surely cut spending. A person who used to go to a high end saloon to get his hair cut will now look at going to a local barber or at least a lesser high end one. People who used to go to a saloon for a shave will now decide to shave at home. At the saloon or beauty parlour this will mean a loss of business and thus a way to cut expense there too would be to cut jobs.
3. Healthcare: The impact on this industry too will be visible though to a lesser extent than many others. People will stop running to a doctor for every small illness and prefer to take off the shelf medication. I mean for a slight fever I’d rather take a paracetamol tablet than go to a doctor. If it still does not go away only then will they think of going to a doctor.
4. Education: This probably will be one of the industries that will not be hit. Business might move from once price range to another but no one will stop sending their kids to school or college. Higher education might get hit though. People might refrain from going for higher education and try to get a job instead.
5. Food Industry: Surely you have to be joking when you say this industry will not be hit. This industry was one of the first to be hit. Walk into any restaurant and the story is the same. Vacant seats where there used to be a queue for tables. You can now walk into almost any restaurant without a reservation and get a seat. This is the first extravagance the common man will cut down on. I agree there still are those restaurants where there are queues but ask them and they too will tell you that business has actually reduced.
6. Sales and Marketing: True, this industry will never close down and might actually see a lesser cut in jobs when compared to the others, but with companies looking at ways of cutting expenses, this surely will be one are to suffer. Companies will no longer spend as lavishly as they did previously on advertisements and marketing. They will also look for more value for money.
7. Accounting Services: With companies moving out or closing down completely this industry too is sure to be hit. Those companies who are still in business too will try to cut accounting roles within the company. Specialized accounting firms and external accounting firms will be less hit though due to standardized industry requirements for specialized and external auditors to audit accounts.
True, these industries will never die out, but are they really recession proof? I don’t think so. I might look like a doomsday prophet when I say all this but then these are the actual facts of life and there is no point hiding behind false pretences.
The bright side of the story is that all this is only as long as the recession lasts. With experts expecting things to turn around soon, all this will be a thing of the past in a year or two at the maximum. There surely is light at the end of the tunnel.
george, you are right in saying how we look at those, but remember these are the basic jobs which are required.
ReplyDeletefor example you said - hair dressers, the frequency will be reduced, whereas i dont see that possibility, you will never want to look ugly by not cutting it on time.
Regarding Food Industry, Food industry, i meant was not just the HOTEL Industry, my pointer was towards the basic production and supply of the food which is again the feed for these hotels.If you look at the stats of US, during the recession period, hotel industry slumped but the grocery industry grew by 7.8% in feb, 2009, reasons were obvious, people wanted to cut down on the restaurant foods and increased the home made or frozen foods which were much cheaper than the other.
You mentioned at couple of points, the company closures will not help, trust me jobs like accounting, security, legal, etc are the ones which has more life than anyother, you can expect the security, accounting personnel to leave the company first before anybody at the time of bankruptcy or closure. Well closing down due to financial crunch impacted by the economy slowdown is one of the parameter for Recession.
My intention for writing this is to explain that , dont just go by the charm, today these businesses are the better performers in united states atleast irrespective of the recession impact.No doubt IT is the highly paid next to financial sector, however, the risk of getting laid off is more in this area.
IT and ITES too are jobs that are absolutely required. They too can not be done away with. Yes, the impact here will be much higher than theses others, but you still will require your hardware and your software and you still will required you hardware refreshes and software upgrades. You still will require you support for the same. You wouldn’t want your hardware cease functioning or your software to be from the Stone Age just like you will never want to look ugly by not cutting your hair on time.
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, "Agriculture" will not be hit. People will still need to eat. The Grocery Sector might improve. But then the Hotel Sector will be hit and they too are part of the Food Industry. That's what I was talking about.
Yes, industries like Accounting, Security and Legal will be less hit when compared to some others. But are they "Recession Proof"? I don't think so. As you said, they might leave before the company files for bankruptcy, much like the proverbial rats jumping off a sinking ship but then just because they left first, doesn’t mean someone else will hire them. The other companies already have enough if not more of them. In short jobs will still be lost in these industries. Some companies in these industries too might even close down. So, like the ship in the proverb, they too will end up in the water.
Summing it up, every industry will be hit in some way or another whether in the US or in India, some more than the others. No one will be left untouched and no one is “Recession Proof”.