These industries will lead hiring in the next decade, with just one sector accounting for more than a third of all new jobs

The U.S. job market is heading into a slower decade, but not every corner of it is cooling off. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says total employment will rise by 5.9 million jobs from 2025 to 2035, reaching 176.2 million. That is 3.5% growth, well below the 10.9% pace of the previous decade.

The fastest-growing industry is utilities, where employment is expected to climb 9.8%. The reason is straightforward: data centers need power, and the AI buildout is driving more of them. BLS says nearly all of that growth will come from electric power generation, transmission, and distribution because of rising electricity demand, including AI power needs. Solar electric power generation is projected to jump 153%, while wind electric power generation is set to rise 62%.

The biggest job engine, though, is healthcare and social assistance. That sector is forecast to add 2.2 million jobs and grow 9.5%, which would make it the second-fastest-growing industry and account for 37% of all new jobs created through 2035. BLS points to two forces behind that: an aging population and more chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Nurse practitioners are expected to see employment surge 41%, and medical and health services managers are projected to grow 24%.

AI may be eating into some office work, but it is not wiping out tech hiring. Professional, scientific and technical services is projected to be the third-fastest-growing sector, up 8.6%, with 926,700 new jobs, the second-largest gain of any industry. Data scientists are expected to grow 34.6%, and computer and information research scientists 21.8%. At the same time, office and administrative support jobs are projected to fall 4%, or 752,100 jobs, while sales and related occupations are set to decline 1.4% as e-commerce expands and AI seeps further into business processes.