In May 2025, Forbes forecasted the demand of project managers to grow by 64% through 2035.
Why? Three reasons:
1: Companies are looking to fill skill gaps
Project managers are lovingly known as the “Jack of All Trades” in organizations. So much so, the best PMs know that in order to do their job effectively, they need to know how to do others jobs a little bit as well.
Companies are looking for this trait in PMs specifically because they know that they need the ‘glue’ to connect other pieces in the organization.
Think about it — in any team effort, it is a struggle to reach a desired goal with all members working independently of each other. When any team is siloed in an organization, productivity slows and targets will be unachieved.
Project Managers come in to identify the gaps, fill them themselves or resource manage to effectively fill the gap in the near future, saving the company time and money down the line.
2: Companies are Prioritizing Speed and Efficiency
Project Managers are productivity czars by trade. An organization without PMs could have projects or initiatives that are taking months or even years to complete.
As an effect, the corporation could fall behind competitors in implementing technology or infrastructures that drive sales. To avoid this outcome, companies will hire PMs to manage these projects quickly to deliver on initiatives that help the company remain competitive in the market.
3: Executives Want Guardrails
Finally, Project Managers act as guardrails for the C-Suite.
Project Managers clearly define scope in their day-to-day duties. In doing so, they help the company stay on track as far as budget and determining return on investment (ROI) by clearly defining key performance indicators (KPIs) ahead of project completion.
This is a huge benefit to the company and executives because there is someone on the ground as a ‘watchdog’ for the company’s budget and overall success.
Finally, I want to make clear that post is not meant to discredit anyone’s experience in looking for a PM role.
The job market is tough right now due to economic uncertainty and newly introduced technologies that are changing the landscape. Even searching for jobs is more difficult these days with bots and scammers crowding job boards.
But Project Management roles are projected to remain in demand due to the steady need of effective communicators and problem solvers in the workplace.