"Best Careers of 2011" – A Review of Hiring Demand for Healthcare Jobs

Last week, we looked at the Business and Creative and Service categories on the list of the "Best Careers of 2011" (published by US News.) Today, we'll continue with the Healthcare careers to see what hiring demand looked like in 2011.

Occupation	Median Pay	% Projected Growth (2008-18)
Athletic trainer	$41,000	37
Dental hygienist	$67,000	36
Lab technician	$36,030	16
Massage therapist	$35,230	19
Occupational therapist	$69,630	26
Optometrist	$96,140	24
Physician assistant	$84,420	39
Physical therapist	$74,480	30
Physical therapist assistant	$48,290	33
Radiologic technologist	$53,240	17
Registered nurse	$63,750	22
School psychologist	$66,040	11
Veterinarian	$80,000	33

From January 2011 through November 2011, Recruiters placed more than 1.7 million job ads online for these 13 healthcare careers. This represents a 40% increase compared to 2010. In the past 90 days alone, there have been about 352,000 job ads. Despite a significant decline in hiring demand for November, these careers have still maintained a 27% growth versus the same 90-day period in 2010.

Volume of Job Ads for Projected Best Healthcare Careers of 2011

Hiring Demand for Top Healthcare Careers of 2011

Source: WANTED Analytics

Of these 13 healthcare careers, 11 saw a year-over-year increase in hiring demand over the past 90 days. The most job ads were posted for Registered Nurses. In fact, Registered Nurses were one of the most demanded occupations in the US every month this year. However the highest growth was seen for Optometrists. Massage Therapists where the only occupation to decline, down 59%. The hiring demand for Veterinarians was the same during the past 90 days as it was in 2010.

Occupation	Volume of Job Ads – Past 90 Days	% Change vs. 2010
Registered Nurses	174,623	+19.0%
Physical Therapists	70,252	+42.7%
Occupational Therapists	63,029	+39.5%
Physical Therapist Assistants	20,505	+42.0%
Physician Assistants	10,269	+22.0%
Radiologic Technologists	6,437	+39.4%
Laboratory Technicians	4,595	+6.7%
Dental Hygienists	716	+13.5%
Massage Therapists	567	-59.7%
School Psychologists	475	+22.7%
Optometrists	470	+133.8%
Athletic Trainers	357	+13.7%
Veterinarians	236	–

Recruiting conditions will vary significantly for each of these careers. The Hiring Scale™ shows that the easiest to fill of these 13 healthcare related careers is likely to be Dental Hygienists. Nationwide, there are about 65 potential candidates in the workforce for each Dental Hygienist job ad placed online. In comparison, the most occupation likely to be the most difficult to fill is Occupational Therapists. The talent pool for this job is much smaller across the country and, with just 1.1 potential candidates per advertised opening across the US, Recruiters in some areas may face a talent shortage. For example, Occupational Therapists have been growing in demand in Washington, DC. However, the talent pool is smaller than average and there aren't enough candidates in the local workforce to fill all the job openings.

Hiring Scale for Dental Hygienists – Washington, DC vs. Nationally