The 153,105 job losses sustained in the financial services sector in 2007 failed to spill over into the broader job market, according to a recent report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The firm’s report on December job losses preceded tomorrow’s release of the government jobs report for last month. December job cuts were 18.7 percent lower than the same month a year ago, when employers announced 54,643 job cuts, according to the report. This data marks the fourth consecutive month and the eighth time in 2007 in which the job-cut total was lower than the previous year. For 2007 the job reduction total was 768,264, which was 8.5 percent fewer than the 839,822 cuts announced in 2006. The report goes on to state that the 2007 total job cuts were the lowest since 2000 and that number continues the downward trend in annual job cuts since reaching a record high in 2001.

While the financial services industry led the way in job losses for 2007, followed by the automotive industry, the Job Market Outlook report issued by Challenger, Gray and Christmas in December forecasts that job growth will continue in 2008, albeit at a much slower pace than 2007. The report cites both new job creation statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and survey information gathered from employees by the Hudson Employment Index as validation for their forecast.

Healthcare, energy, green energy, technology, and business and professional services will be hot industries in 2008, according to the report. Here are some of the hot jobs within those industries listed in the report for 2008:

· Environmental engineers

· Construction engineer/manager

· Renewable energy engineer

· Pipeline engineer

· Registered nurse

· Pharmacist

· Information security specialist

· Web 2.0 software engineer

· Lawyer

· Accountant

· Management consultant