Where the Jobs Are: Apartment Industry Sees Strong Demand for New Employees
As the nation’s unemployment rates slowly recover, the apartment industry continues to see strong demand for new employees in order to keep up with a growth rate that is expected to increase as people opt to rent apartments.
Approximately 35 percent of U.S. households are renter households, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
That number is up 4 percent from 2004. It is likely to climb even higher as the number of renter households increases anywhere from 360,000 to 470,000 annually over the next decade.
Ultimately, that increase will translate into the creation of more well-paying jobs in the apartment management industry, which has come through the recent recession relatively unscathed by the layoffs and downsizing that have plagued other businesses.
“The reality is that at no point in time have we seen a significant reduction in the number of apartment units in the United States,” said National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) President Maitri Johnson, CAPS. “Every year we keep adding to the apartment stock, and we keep adding jobs. That has not been the case with many other industries during the past few years.”
The multifamily housing industry employs more than 1 million people, not including the thousands of others working in industries that provide products and services to apartment communities. Large national apartment management companies may hire as many as 2,000 new employees in any given year. These employees often come from a variety of college backgrounds, including business, marketing, communications or facilities maintenance.
Managing apartment communities requires a team of employees performing a variety of functions such as management, customer service, accounting, business analysis and preventive maintenance. A recent search of job postings on ApartmentCareers.com highlighted open positions for an accountant, webmaster, maintenance technician, housekeeper and regional marketing director.
John Cullens, CAM, CAPS, CPS, president and founder of ApartmentCareers.com, said few industries can provide a career that is not only portable “ virtually every community has a few rental homes or an apartment community “ but also provides a variety of career paths, good pay and good benefits. The apartment industry is particularly attractive to new college graduates who may lack the experience needed for well-paying jobs in other industries. Once exposed to the opportunity to manage a $3 million budget, a team of six employees and a real estate asset valued at over $20 million, most recent graduates realize that they have found their niche.
“The apartment industry has a constant need for new employees to not only keep pace with the growth we are seeing in the industry — and the construction of new rental units — but also to fill those positions that open as a result of standard employee turnover and baby boomer retirements,” Johnson said. “Multifamily housing is an industry that doesn’t require all employees to have advanced degrees. Our workforce is very diverse, and people can find good jobs at all levels.”
February marks Apartment Careers Month, and NAAEI is working closely with its members and local apartment associations to raise awareness about the numerous career opportunities available in the apartment industry. With more than 95 million (and growing) Americans living in rental housing, the industry’s job opportunities are only expected to increase in the coming years.
For more information on careers in the multifamily housing industry, please visit http://www.apartmentcareerhq.org.
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