Health Care Industry Employment Outlook
Over the next decade, workers in the health care industry will be in high demand. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment in the health care industry is projected to increase 27.3 percent, as compared to 14 percent for all other U.S. industries combined. In 2004, the health care industry provided 13.5 million jobs.
Growth in the health care industry will account for 3.6 million new jobs from 2004 to 2014. Almost 20 percent of the new jobs added in the next decade will be in the health care industry.
Of the 20 occupations projected to grow the fastest by the U.S. Department of Labor, eight of these occupations are in the health care industry. Several health care occupations will grow by 50 or more percent, including home health aides by 56 percent, medical assistants by 52 percent, and physician assistants by 50 percent. The three occupations, nurses aides, orderlies and attendants, and home health aides, will account for 675,000 new jobs between 2004 and 2014. Registered nurses will also be among the fastest growing health care occupations.
In the hospital industry segment, the largest and slowest growing segment of the health care industry, employment growth will be 13 percent. In the smaller industry segment, home health care services, growth is projected to be 69 percent.
There are many reasons for the employment growth predicted for the next decade. High job turnover in health care service occupations, such as medical assistants, dental assistants and nursing aides, coupled with tighter immigration rules that will decrease the number of foreign health care workers, will accelerate the demand. In addition, the aging population with growing medical needs will increase faster than the total population. With advances in medical technology, people are living longer and eventually having to rely on long-term care facilities, which will require more health care workers.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, health care workers with varying levels of education, training and experience will be in very high demand, but those with specialized training will experience an even bigger employment opportunity. Specialized clinical training is a definite asset to employment in the health care industry.
Note: All Bureau of Labor Statistics are for the period 2004 to 2014.
