There's good news and bad news for healthcare job seekers in 2012.
Jobs in healthcare rose to 14.19 million in October 2011 from 13.88 million a year earlier (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics). But while hospital jobs jumped by 84,000 over last year, jobs in physician offices, outpatient clinics and home health agencies added over 173,000 positions.
The new job paradigm in healthcare is all about performance ratings in regards to customer satisfaction, clinical outcomes and reducing costs. So it’s not surprising to see a rising demand for such healthcare professionals as case managers, healthcare IT and data specialists. Home health agencies will be a hot hiring resource for healthcare job seekers. Nurses, nurse practitioners, social workers and home health aides will experience as much as a 15 percent rise in 2012.
General practitioners will be increasingly in short supply as baby boomers age and the population continues to expand. This will give rise to an army of physician assistants who will have to fill the gap in long-term care facilities, community clinics and hospitals.
Physical therapists will be in great demand because they are getting older and not being replaced. In 2000, 15.6 percent of therapists were over 50; that number rose to 32 percent in 2010 (according to a report from the American Physical Therapy Association). What’s more, in 2010, only 0.4 percent of physical therapists seeking work were jobless.
Unfortunately, job growth for imaging technologists has been slowing due to the increased productivity in digital imaging. From 2003 to 2011, open jobs for radiographers have fallen from 10.3 percent to 2 percent, and job openings for CT specialists have dropped from 8.5 percent to 2 percent.
For an added perspective, check out this video:
If you have any thoughts on healthcare jobs in 2012, feel free to share them in the comments section.
Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients. Please see more of his blogs and view additional job postings on Nexxt.
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