Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced their Employment Situation Summary for May.  Although job growth was lower than expected, they did point out 3 areas that were up: Healthcare, Mining and Professional and Business Services.

The U.S. Healthcare sector has seen consistent job growth during both good and bad employment times.  Over the past 120 days, recruiting agencies and employers placed more than 75,000 new job ads for Occupational Therapists.  Representing the highest growth of any field within the Healthcare sector at 103% (vs. prior year), this rapid increase in hiring demand is calling more attention to the already existing talent shortage healthcare organizations are facing.

Hiring Demand for Occupational Therapists over the Past 4 Years

Source: WANTED Analytics

 

While some industries may be able to experience this kind of year-over-year growth and not result in hiring challenges, the healthcare industry is seeing a more nnoticeable shortage in the number of candidates for open positions. We estimate that there are approximately 83,000 Occupational Therapists in the US - roughly 1.1 candidates for every new job posted.

Some geographical areas will experience recruitment conditions that vary from the national average. The area with the best hiring condition is Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Here, the number of new jobs ads is relatively low and we estimate that there are about 16 candidates for every position. It will be relatively easier for recruiters to fill positions in this location than for many of their US counterparts.  

Organizations Currently Hiring Occupational Therapists in Ann Arbor, MI

Source: WANTED Analytics

 

On the other hand, Lakeland, Florida currently sits in the one of the worst conditions across the U.S. for recruiting Occupational Therapists.  Here, organizations have placed 126 job ads over the past 120 days, but we estimate their candidate pool to be approximately 80 candidates.  Since there are not enough qualified Occupational Therapists in the local area, recruiters will likely need to advertise jobs for longer time periods, invest more time in sourcing for openings, or increase their recruiting budgets to relocate talent from another city.

Candidate Supply of Occupational Therapists in Lakeland, FL

Source: WANTED Analytics

In nearby Tampa, we estimate that there is a much larger pool of candidates and, as a result, the position moves on the Hiring Scale to be relatively easier vs. Lakeland, Florida. 

Hiring Scales for Occupational Therapists in Lakeland, FL and Tampa, FL

Source: WANTED Analytics