If you or someone you know is planning on staking out a career in construction over the next eight years…your skills are probably going to be in demand.

The U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released a projection for occupations in which job growth is expected to take place from 1998 through 2008. Construction, the BLS concluded, is the only goods-producing industry expected to experience job growth during that period.

Taking new jobs and retirement of existing workers into account, the industry is expected to grow at 14 percent over the next 10 years, with the need to fill 550,000 jobs. Future construction job growth is expected to be slower than the 17 percent growth rate from 1988-1998.

Following are some construction crafts and their anticipated growth rate, according to the BLS:

Bricklayers - employment up 12.3 percent; 19,000 new jobs, and a net increase of 48,000 jobs taking retirements and attrition into account.

Electricians - employment up 10.3 percent; 68,000 new jobs, net increase of 202,000 jobs.

Elevator installers and repairers - employment up 12.2 percent; 4,000 new jobs, net increase of 11,000 jobs.

Hazardous materials removers - employment up 19.3 percent; 7,000 new jobs, net increase of 16,000 jobs.

Plasterers and stucco masons - employment up 17.1 percent; 17,000 new jobs, net increase of 73,000 jobs.

Sheet metal workers - employment up 14.1 percent; 32,000 new jobs, net increase of 89,000 jobs.