Job growth predicted in financial regulation

People who knew how to make a quick buck held some of the fastest-growing jobs two years ago. Now, the growth industry is in helping financial firms figure out how to follow the rules.

Financial examiners and compliance officers are expected to be two of the 30 fastest-growing U.S. occupations over the next 10 years, according to a Labor Department report released last week.

Two years ago, financial analysts -- the people at investment firms who pore over stocks and bonds -- were on that list. But after the financial crisis, that occupation has fallen out of the top 30.

Robert R. Johnson, senior managing director at the CFA Institute, a membership group for money managers and financial analysts, said the report is good news for the financial markets.

"The finance industry grew so rapidly that people were attracted for the wrong reasons," he said. "People were buying and selling assets they didn't understand." If securities firms and other institutions increase their focus on compliance, he said, "that's wonderful news for investors."

The number of jobs for financial examiners is projected to grow more than 40 percent from 2008 to 2018, the Labor Department's report said. Examiners are employed by banks, insurance companies and other firms, as well as by the government agencies that regulate them. They're charged with ensuring that the firms comply with the state and federal rules that govern their industries. The occupation will account for 38,000 jobs in 10 years, the department said.

Compliance officers perform similar work and are employed mostly by government regulators and financial firms. They are more numerous than examiners, and the number of such jobs is forecast to jump 31 percent, to a total of 341,000, by 2018, the department said.

The number of jobs for accountants and auditors is expected to rise by 279,000, the department said, to nearly 1.6 million.

All these professions "will benefit from an increasingly complex regulatory environment," the department said. Congress is considering wide-ranging legislation to tighten the rules governing Wall Street.

Every two years, the Labor Department projects how many jobs the economy will generate over the next decade, and in what industries and occupations.

Many of the occupations the department expects to grow the fastest are concentrated in the health-care industry.

The number of home health aides is expected to jump by 50 percent, to 1.4 million, by 2018, the department said. It projects there will be 104,000 jobs for physician assistants, who can provide less-costly care than doctors -- a 39 percent increase.

The job market in information technology is expected to keep growing. Businesses are using more complex internal networks and strengthening their computer security, the department said. And mobile computing is growing more popular.

Providing health care for pets is also likely to be a growing field: The department said the number of veterinarians and vet technicians should each increase by about a third.