The continual decline in manufacturing jobs is one trend of decades ago that has not ended, particularly in Long Island, New York, with its displaced aero-space industry and its lowest numbers of people employed in manufacturing in three decades. However, there is good new for many other occupations in the Long Island region. It appears that occupational trends are highly dependent upon region, because many regions house a monopoly on industry that makes them able to offer more opportunities in some occupations over others. The heavily condensed computer-technology industry in the Northwest is one prime example of this phenomenon. Further, it appears there are national trends superimposed on regional ones that affect which opportunities are where, for example “only about 35% of the companies in the Northeast are planning to add jobs…[compared to]…46%” in the Northwest, Far West, and Southwest (Hube, 1996: 2).
In other words, there are not only regional trends that might be called microeconomic trends, but there are also macroeconomic trends that are superimposed over them. For example, most new jobs across the country will be created by mid-size businesses with less than 500 employees. The tight cap on wages is expected to continue as are small increments in benefits packages. Because of the corporate goal to cut costs and reduce inventory, outsourcing continues to create numerous contracts for many industries and has helped create double digit growth in the temporary personnel industry (another variety of outsourcing). Regional trends tend to move fast while national ones are slower. If we look at the jobs predicted to be the hottest in the Northeast, it is easier to get an understanding of why some occupations are sizzling in Long Island and why others are not. In the Northeast region, “Growth will remain sluggish, but the record stock market plus mergers and restructuring among hospitals, banks and telecommun...