The global beverage marketplace was valued at $1.54 trillion in 2018 and was expected to reach $1.85 trillion by 2024, according to a September 2019 ResearchAndMarkets.com report, which forecast 3.1 percent compound annual growth for the industry. Today, numerous mega-plants operate around the clock, seven days a week. The U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market grew 3.8 percent in 2018, reaching $180 billion, according to Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC), a research group.

Energy drinks and bottled water usually represent growth areas in the beverage industry. In terms of volume, bottled water surpassed carbonated soft drinks in 2016, becoming the nation's leading beverage. The category's growth continued in 2018, with retail sales growing 7 percent and volume increasing nearly 5 percent, according to BMC.

Non-alcoholic liquid refreshments remain extremely popular with American consumers. As long as people are thirsty, there should be job opportunities in this field. Many companies are "reshoring," meaning they are bringing outsourced personnel and services back to the United States; some are moving jobs to lower cost regions in the United States rather than to other countries. This may create more opportunities for beverage industry workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor predicts that employment of industrial production managers and employment of first line supervisors of production and operating workers will remain nearly unchanged through 2028. More companies are adapting leaner production models, which may mean fewer employment opportunities. Production managers with bachelor's degrees in industrial management or business administration will have better chances of securing work.

The U.S. Department of Labor also reports that employment of all production workers not listed separately, including production and operating workers in beverage industry, will grow slower than the average for all occupations through 2028.

Beverage Industry Workers

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