As it stands, five million fewer people are working now than before the pandemic in 2020. Surprisingly, this is not because of a shortage of jobs. Millions of jobs remain available in the markets. One of the reasons why people seem to be staying home is to rethink their careers. If you’re one of those people, you may wonder what jobs will prove more fulfilling and profitable. If that describes you, consider a career in the death care industry! When you work in this industry, you can help bring closure to people enduring tremendous heartache. You also get the opportunity to help people pass on with dignity.
Moreover, the industry is a profitable one for workers. To illustrate this point, we’ll examine some of the recent statistics regarding the death care industry in the guide below.
Projections for the Death Care Industry
Currently, experts project that the US funeral industry will reach revenues of $68 billion by the year 2023. This projection indicates the revenue will grow at a CAGR of over 4% from 2017 to 2023.
Why is this industry growing so much? Like many other industries, the Internet has played a role in changing this field. For example, many online crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe have helped fund funerals.
In recent years, many people have used these sources to generate funds for a funeral. After all, people can be empathetic and generous. When people hear that somebody suffered a sudden loss, they’re willing to help mitigate that suffering however possible.
Type of Work in the Funeral Industry
Increasingly, traditional funerals with a casket and a burial plot in a graveyard have become less common. Replacing the usual form are cremations. Several factors influence this rise.
First, cremation is often a cheaper option than burial. If a family doesn’t have Final Expense Insurance, it can make a casket, flowers, and burial plot expensive. Many people believe this option helps their family keep a more robust financial opinion.
Most people think about cremation as incineration. In the end, they imagine people pouring the ashes into an urn or other container. While this is the most popular option, it’s not the only one.
A new process of water cremation has also gained popularity. In this process, the body of the deceased becomes liquefied. As this happens to the body, workers crush the bones into ashes.
Another burial option is the green burial. Currently, this method is only legal in 15 states. Green burials avoid using caskets, toxic embalming chemicals, metal, and other resources.
Instead, the body is often lowered into the grave in a simple covering. As the plot becomes covered, loved ones can plant flowers or shrubs over the space.
As a mortician, you help provide these options to families and friends of deceased people. However, to get a clearer idea of where you can start your career, you’ll need to examine segmentation. We’ll spend some time exploring this in the section below.
Segmentation of the Funeral Industry
There are three essential categories for market segmentation. These include operations, arrangements, and products/services.
Each of these plays a vital role in the funeral industry. We’ll explore these segmentations in the sections below.
Operations
When discussing funeral industry operations, there are two fields for people to choose from. These fields are funeral homes and cemeteries. In 2017, funeral homes dominated the majority of the market share.
Since that year, there’s been a growing CAGR of approximately 2%. As the funeral industry continues to grow and evolve, it expands to include many additional adaptations.
Some of these additions may include reception rooms, kitchen spaces, and banquet areas. As these changes arrive, it gives the funeral home more room to hire staff.
Arrangements
As with operations, there are two primary segments for arrangements. These segments are at-need arrangements and pre-need arrangements. The fastest-growing segment in this market is pre-need arrangements.
This segment has grown by roughly 2% between 2017 and 2023. Pre-need arrangements typically involve cemeteries, mortuaries, and insurance companies that you contact before the time of death. Essentially, this segment covers the preparations that come before a person’s passing.
In contrast, at-needs focus on things that you need at the time of the funeral. At-need services have grown in popularity over the years, primarily because the US population continues to age.
At-need funeral services include the decisions made by the family at the time of death. These decisions include the funeral date, flower selection, reception plans, etc.
Products/Services
If you’ve ever been to a funeral, you’ve seen that several products go into planning. These include caskets, facility rentals, embalming procedures, urns, and other items. The products and services segmentation oversees funeral items that help celebrate the life of a loved one.
The largest market share in 2017 was caskets and vaults, which grew at a 1% CAGR between that year and 2023. This segment continues to grow as people continue to search for providers of these products. Warehouses and retail stores gain more business, thereby increasing the segmentation.
Similarly, several types of urns have also helped grow the market. Urns of all shapes and sizes exist to cater to every taste. Some even include environmentally-friendly materials.
Find Work in Death Care Services
Funeral industry workers can play a significant role in helping people through the grieving process. If you’d considered work in this field, investigate these segments of the death care industry. You may find a fulfilling and well-paying career!
We hope you enjoyed this article! If so, check out our other content today.