These are crazy times we’re living in economically speaking. Economic activity is predicted to decrease by 7% this year, leaving millions of people jobless and creating conditions worse than the World War II recession, which is why you may be wondering what the best covid recession proof jobs are.

That’s not to say that these jobs won’t feel some of the covid recession’s impact. My husband is in the health care industry and I’m in personal finance– those should both be fairly recession proof, but even we had to go a few weeks without getting a paycheck during the start of covid shut downs. All this to say, no job is completely recession proof, but here are some options that are certainly safer than others if you are wondering what professions are recession proof.

So let’s start out with the number one covid recession proof job of all time– working for Zoom! Ha. I kid I kid. Ok here we go:

COVID RECESSION PROOF JOBS

GOVERNMENT JOBS 

Coming in hot at the top of our list are government jobs. One thing was crystal clear when everything started shutting down at the start of covid– government jobs were considered “essential” and seemed to be covid recession proof, no matter how big or small the job. Whether your the mayor, or a janitor, if the state or the feds are covering your employment, you are probably going to be working through any recession that covid throws our way. 

PRIVATE TEACHER OR TUTOR 

Teaching jobs aren’t going anywhere during the pandemic. Whether you decide to teach at a public school (most likely remotely or at least remotely in part) or private teaching or tutoring, you can likely count on having a job during the pandemic. 

With the closure of schools, some teacher’s were laid off by public school systems and I noticed a lot of teachers taking to private teaching and tutoring. I suspect that these kinds of jobs will continue to grow as school starts remotely in many states over the coming weeks. Many parents will be working or otherwise unable to take on the responsibility of teaching their school aged children and will outsource this task to private tutors and teachers. If you’ve been a teacher, teaching assistant, or any kind of educator in the past, you might consider private teaching or tutoring through the pandemic while schools are closed. 

BUSINESS OWNER / START A BIZ

Another way to make sure you have a job during crazy times such as this pandemic is to start your own business. A lot of people who were laid off or furloughed during this time now have the time they never had before to start their own pandemic recession proof business. For example, maybe you have sewing skills and you can start an epic etsy shop making face masks. Or perhaps you have some goods that you can deliver or ship to people rather than sell out of a brick and mortar store. Or maybe you can invent a new way to do ventilators or you could do some kind of online consulting. The options are as wide as you can imagine! If you need help starting your business, make sure you check out our Checklist for Starting a Business.

EMERGENCY SERVICES 

Emergency services will always be needed, no matter what the economy is like, which is why firefighters, police officers, EMS, and other emergency service workers will likely have jobs notwithstanding a recession.

SOCIAL WORKERS

Social work is recession proof. Currently, the demand for social workers outweighs the supply and the demand continues to rise. Situations in which social workers are needed will continue to present themselves during any recession that covid may throw our way. 

SOME HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Another group that will enjoy job security during a covid recession are health care workers such as physician assistant’s, doctors, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, and pharmacists, to name a few. 

ACCOUNTANTS & FINANCIAL ADVISORS 

Accountants and financial advisors can expect job security during the covid recession. This is true because many Americans were out of work for several weeks this year and or received benefits from the stimulus package

HOSPITAL WORKER 

Another covid recession proof job is to be a hospital worker of any kind– from a doctor to a desk worker, as long as covid is around, hospitals will likely be staffed. It’s worth noting that many hospitals were actually furloughing employees at the start of covid when elective surgeries were not allowed in many states,

CAR MAINTENANCE

Another recession proof job is automotive maintenance. Even if we aren’t driving as much as we used to, cars will still break down. We’ll need oil changes and regular car upkeep. 

PPE MANUFACTURING AND SALES 

Jobs involving personal protective equipment (PPE, like masks) will stay strong throughout any covid recession for the obvious reason that we all desperately need these supplies. 

DELIVERY SERVICES 

Jobs that provide delivery services are covid recession proof. Whether it’s the delivery of food (think Postmates, Grubhub, UberEats, etc) goods (Amazon) or services, delivery service jobs aren’t going anywhere. 

TECH INDUSTRY WORKERS/IT WORKERS

Tech industry and IT workers will also enjoy employment during the pandemic for many reasons, not the least of which is that so many Americans are working from home now. Individuals and big businesses will need all the tech support they can get.  

GROCERY STORES

Grocery store workers are always going to be needed. Whether that’s bagging groceries, collecting shopping carts, doing inventory, or managing a grocery store, these are essential workers and always will be! 

FAMILY AND CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS 

Most lawyer jobs are not so stable during a recession but there are two notable exceptions– family lawyers and criminal defense lawyers. Sadly, people still get divorced and crimes still get committed even in (maybe especially in) tough economic times.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 

Do you know what we always need no matter what is going on in the economy? Food. That’s why food and ag workers will ALWAYS be needed. If you wanted to switch to the safest industry in terms of being recession proof, food and ag is probably it. Unless of course, you know, a raging fire burns up all of America’s crops and a meteor hits us and a volcano explodes and locusts eat all of the remaining plants so that there is no food. Wouldn’t put it past 2020. But in that case, we’d all be dying and you wouldn’t need a job anyway. 

[Related: 12 JOBS THAT MAKE $100,000 THAT YOU CAN DO WITHOUT AN ADVANCED DEGREE]

The Covid Recession can feel stressful and unpredictable. If you’ve lost your job or are otherwise looking for a new job during this time, consider one of these covid-recession proof jobs. And know that things won’t always be like this. They’ll get better. Even if your in an industry that doesn’t look pretty right now (looking at you gyms, bars, etc!) they’ll get better.  

Looking for other ways to make money? Check out our articles on how to make money here. 

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