The unemployment situation in the United States remains grim. According to Fortune magazine, while the number of unemployed Americans fell from 23.1 million to 17.8 million between April and June 2020, the number of "permanently" unemployed Americans rose from 2 million to 2.9 million during the same time period.

However, new research has revealed some parts of the labor market are experiencing an upturn.

LinkedIn News has identified a number of specialized jobs gaining prominence as American society attempts to address challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of those positions include virtual assistants, crisis counselors, online tutors and occupancy planners.

Occupancy planners consult organizations on the use of their workspaces, and with social distancing being a top concern, it's perhaps little wonder they're in such demand. Susan Wasmund, who oversees the occupancy planning team at Jones Lang LaSalle, told LinkedIn News, "We've actually created more than 260 million square feet of social-distancing plans for clients this year." The global headcount at the property-services company has risen 10% over the past year, she says, with still more job openings to fill.

Life coaches are also in demand, according to the research. However, one life coach has a more nuanced take. "For my niche (solo, small business, freelance) I have found it somewhat more difficult to connect to prospective clients the past few months," says Kelly Jennings, The Improv Leadership Coach. "Many are looking at their present circumstances and making decisions from the present moment, which is understandable. I invite people to make decisions from a future based place—'where do you want to be a year from now, 5 years from now?' But that can be a challenge for a small business whose been closed for months. They are in survival mode."

Skills relating to telehealth and virtual instruction are also increasingly in demand. According to LinkedIn data, U.S. members with the 10 most common medical titles added telemedicine or telehealth skills to their profiles 4.8 times faster during the 12 weeks since the COVID-19 outbreak than during the previous 12 weeks. Similarly, members in the five top teaching roles added "web conferencing," "video conferencing" and Zoom skills to their profiles 10 times faster during the same time period compared to the previous one.

Teachers have adapted to this "new normal," but not without difficulties. "In the beginning it was incredibly hard," says Karen Watson, a public school teacher in Brooklyn. "Maybe kids were doing homework while I was teaching, or eating breakfast or talking to their families. Sometimes kids would sign off before class ended. There would be internet problems. You don't have the control, and management is 60 percent of how to make a successful classroom."

Days can be longer for teachers under the current remote learning regime. "After your classes, there's a lot of paperwork, filling out forms detailing what we did and who we communicated with," describes Watson. "Then you would have individual remote meetings with students and either answering parent emails or having video conferences with parents. All of this happens on your own time, and before you know it, it's ten o'clock in the evening.

"With technology, there's no human feelings involved. I think human feelings is what makes things stick with children," Watson summarized. "But I do believe that we'll always have this in some form. I don't believe that once the pandemic ends, we're going to put online learning aside."

For the remainder of 2020, jobs particularly in demand include any that help with activities indirectly affected by the pandemic and the resulting shelter orders. Not all jobs pay the same, regardless of demand.

For instance, personal shoppers are on the rise. According to LinkedIn analysis, self-reported pay averages about $25,000 a year. Workers are most commonly women under 25, and research shows these positions are most likely to attract people with only a high school education.

Occupancy planners tend to have at least a four-year college degree, usually in real estate, architecture, or interior design. Pay can start at about $58,000, according to industry insiders.

Another sign of the times: Public health experts are predicting a need for up to 300,000 COVID-19 contact tracers. The job would include phone work to pinpoint close associates of infected people who might be infected themselves and need to quarantine. Some states are offering $20 an hour for such work, but Chicago recruiter Joe Culotta says he's seen markets where pay is as low as $12 an hour, which is "not enough to get the right people," he told LinkedIn. Key skills for contract-tracer jobs include empathy and an awareness of the sensitivity of the work.

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In our post-COVID economy, telemedicine and virtual conferencing skills are increasingly in demand

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