In a new time filled with social distancing, Coronavirus madness, and adapting to a new normal, citizens are still expected to be going to school and work like usual. While their work is far from usual, they are expected to go to work. This puts people in many different situations depending on their occupation. Many are expected to work from home via technology. However, online has been required from many unless they are seen as “essential” to the country. This is the time we are seeing jobs have a new criteria, “Are they able to survive through a global pandemic?”. Some are able to live up to the task while others fall short, it all comes up to the nature of the job. 

          Many jobs are still able to function in different scenarios through this pandemic whether it be in person, remote, or hybrid. These jobs all have one thing in common: being covid proof. But this is a very broad commonality and is not a good descriptor for occupations. Is there something more specific that these jobs possess that we can use or give to other jobs? Taking a look at the job market data can provide a useful insight into what job categories are thriving and here they are. The highest hiring job sectors (data from last three months) and certain jobs that belong to it are: 

1. Leisure and Hospitality: Hotel Clerk, Fast-Food Team Member, Event Planner, and Group Sales
2. Retail Trade: Retail Store Associate, Online Business Warehouse Packer, and Customer Service 
3. Education and Health Services: Teacher, Education Specialist, Nurse, and Pharmacist

           The thing these jobs have in common which other jobs do not is they are in the people business. With unemployment being at an all time high, we still see these sectors hiring people during this global pandemic. While there are other jobs that do work with people, there was a need for these specific jobs during this time. Planning for this pandemic very last minute and rushed, we were forced into a quick lockdown for months. After precautions started to be lifted, people have a large desire to go and and enjoy what they used to before, thus creating a need for retail and leisure activities. This need for these specific activities created a need for more jobs in these areas.  The need for education jobs seems rather obvious, with education being a top priority for the millions of children being inside needing an education. With the little planning many educators had in March, there was a need for many learning specialists as well as other teachers to aid with the education process. Many students may need one on one help and a specialist could be helpful during a time of isolation and online learning. 

           The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a new category of jobs which are able to withstand and grow throughout this whole ordeal. These categories may prove to be a good field to enter, if this pandemic continues. We saw this increase with a need for these specific fields. Overall, time will tell if these trends will last, and we will see if they were needed for the time being or needs for now and for the future.