20 Industries, Jobs With the Most Optimistic Workers

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Most U.S. employees are confident in their employers’ futures.

A new survey from PayScale shows that 59 percent of U.S. workers are optimistic overall, with only 24 percent pessimistic overall and 17 percent falling in between with a response of “meh.”

That’s based on a poll of more than 400,000 people conducted last month.

The employer review website observes:

Global economic uncertainty brought on by — among other things — the volatile race for the U.S. presidency might be contributing to America’s slow recovery from the Great Recession, lackluster economic growth and stagnant wages for most American workers. But even though the economy isn’t growing as rapidly as we’d like, according to 425,219 U.S. workers … Americans are largely optimistic about the future of their employers.

Some of the most optimistic employees work in fields that are tied to economic cycles.

For example, the real estate, rental and leasing industry, and the construction industry are among those with the highest percentages of workers who are strongly optimistic that their employers have bright futures.

PayScale notes that the real estate market’s recent performance could help explain this. U.S. home prices are up roughly 5.4 percent year-over-year, and are just 2.9 percent below the June 2006 peak.

The same is true for the construction industry, where unemployment is dropping. Additionally, the construction market stands to see “significant growth” as millennials — the largest generation in history — enter their peak home-buying years, according to PayScale.

The top 10 industries with the greatest percentage of strongly optimistic workers are:

  • Real estate, rental and leasing
  • Finance and insurance
  • Construction
  • Arts, entertainment and recreation
  • Utilities
  • Transportation and warehousing
  • Accommodation and food services
  • Wholesale trade
  • Educational services
  • Health care and social assistance

Looking at job titles, PayScale found that optimistic workers most commonly work as:

  • Flight attendants
  • General dentists
  • Post-secondary teachers
  • Chief executives
  • Real estate brokers
  • Surgeons
  • Optometrists
  • Clergy
  • Archivists
  • Concierges

What’s your take on these results? Does the economic cycle affect how optimistic you feel about your employer? Share your thoughts below or on Facebook.

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