--- title: These Are the 10 Most ‘Recession-Proof’ Jobs Heading Into 2023 description: A recession may be on the horizon, but layoffs are unlikely to impact these positions in 2023, according to a Payscale report. authors: - name: Mary Ellen Cagnassola role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/ bio: Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former reporter at Money, where she covered Social Security, retirement, housing, and employment. Her work reflects her commitment to service and equity in consumer finance. education: Rutgers University, BA Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 205 covers: - Career Advice - Banking - Business - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2022-12-16T14:58:59.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T12:55:46.000Z' section: Career Advice tags: - News word_count: 483 canonical: https://money.com/recession-proof-jobs/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![A waiter carries three plates from the kitchen at a Mexican Restaurant](https://img.money.com/2022/12/News-2022-Most-Recession-Proof-Jobs.jpg?crop=0px%2C152px%2C4090px%2C2300px&quality=85) Between reports of [corporate layoffs](https://money.com/ceos-think-recession-layoffs-2023/) and forecasts anticipating a recession early next year, it’s no surprise that [most Americans](https://insightglobal.com/blog/recession-anxieties/) are feeling on edge about their job security. Some workers, however, can breathe a sigh of relief, according to a [Payscale report](https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/hottest-jobs-end-of-year-report-2022/#module-4) ranking which jobs are least likely to feel the impact of an economic downturn. The compensation data and software company determined its list of most "recession-proof" jobs by salary growth using employee-reported data from more than 1.1 million workers in the U.S. According to Payscale, people working in food service, banking, emergency response, advertising and sales strategy are some of the most unlikely to [get laid off](https://money.com/moves-if-you-might-get-laid-off/) in the event of a [recession](https://money.com/nobody-can-agree-us-recession/). Payscale says the jobs listed are stable thanks to staffing troubles amid labor scarcity and increased competition. “Despite the possibility of an economic downturn, the labor market remains tight, forcing employers to pay top dollar to attract and retain talent for the most sought-after roles,” Lexi Clarke, vice president of People at Payscale, said in a news release. The report also found that the top 10 positions on the list saw significant [wage growth](https://money.com/higher-pay-report-millennials-boomers/) this year, with compensation increasing 14% to 30%. These are the most "recession-proof" roles moving into the new year. 1. **Waiter/waitress** Median pay: $19,900 annually Salary growth: 30% 2. **Private banker** Median pay: $93,000 Salary growth: 25% 3. **Media director** Median pay: $108,000 Salary growth: 23% 4. **Police, fire or ambulance dispatcher** Median pay: $44,500 Salary growth: 19% 5. **Sales consultant** Median pay: $56,800 Salary growth: 18% 6. **Microbiologist** Median pay: $59,900 Salary growth: 16% 7. **Marketing and business development director** Median pay: $119,000 Salary growth: 16% 8. **Dock worker** Median pay: $41,100 Salary growth: 15% 9. **EKG technician** Median pay: $40,400 Salary growth: 15% 10. **Installation technician** Median pay: $46,800 Salary growth: 15% ## Labor market outlook for 2023 Outside the tech industry, the threat of a recession has had a much softer impact on [wages](https://money.com/ask-for-a-raise-scipt-2022/) and [unemployment](https://money.com/unemployment-insurance-2020-research-pandemic/) than economists expected. The Labor Department reported that unemployment remained low in November at 3.7%, the same as the previous month. Wages were also up 5.1% year-to-year, suggesting that an economic downturn probably won’t have the devastating toll on the labor market that Americans experienced in connection with the Great Recession in 2008. Overall, workers probably won’t have to relinquish all the power they’ve gained over the past few years. Though the Great Resignation may seem like it's winding down, Payscale says companies that ask employees to [return to in-person office work](https://money.com/working-office-vs-working-remote-costs/) are at risk of losing talent, even with the potential of layoffs. “Workplace [flexibility](https://money.com/return-to-office-stay-home/) has been shown to improve employee satisfaction, so rescinding this perk can be a major factor in employees’ decisions to resign,” Clarke said in the news release. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/recession-proof-jobs/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Career Advice", "item": "https://money.com/career-advice/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Employment", "item": "https://money.com/employment/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "These Are the 10 Most ‘Recession-Proof’ Jobs Heading Into 2023" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/recession-proof-jobs/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/recession-proof-jobs/", "name": "These Are the 10 Most ‘Recession-Proof’ Jobs Heading Into 2023", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2022-12-16T14:58:59.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/recession-proof-jobs/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/recession-proof-jobs/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T12:55:46.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "These Are the 10 Most ‘Recession-Proof’ Jobs Heading Into 2023", "articleSection": "Career Advice", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2022/12/News-2022-Most-Recession-Proof-Jobs.jpg?crop=0px%2C152px%2C4090px%2C2300px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "News-2022-Most-Recession-Proof-Jobs" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Ellen Cagnassola", "url": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/#author", "description": "Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former reporter at Money, where she covered Social Security, retirement, housing, and employment. 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