Every year, data regarding the state of employment in the U.S. are collected, analyzed and published in an accessible format by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); a division of the United States Department of Labor. This remarkably detailed resource makes it relatively simple for anyone who happens to be interested to discover current and future trends in the national labor market. Even better, it is possible to drill down and discover patterns and trends in regional and local labor markets.
Nursing Employment Outlook in New York City
For instance, the New York metropolitan area, including Staten Island and Queens, is presently experiencing a surge in hiring for professionals working in healthcare. Factors affecting the growing need for trained healthcare professionals include the aging of the baby boomer generation, the rising incidence of chronic, serious illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and the area’s growing population.
According to BLS, the occupations with the most rapid growth in 2014 (the most recent year for which data are available) include nearly thirty diverse occupations. But positions in the healthcare industry account for five of the top six most-in-demand jobs, including personal care aids, registered nurses, home health aides, and nursing assistants. Clearly, the job market for qualified nurses is strong in New York City.
Even better for current nursing school students, demand for these occupations is expected to grow faster than the average for all other occupations over the next seven years. Nationally, this category is projected to experience a remarkable 25.9% increase in growth from 2014 to 2024. Similarly, job growth for registered nurses is projected to be “much higher than the average for all occupations,” for the same period; as the Bureau notes.
Nursing: Safer Than Scaling High Towers
Nationally, healthcare jobs figure among the top professions expected to experience robust job growth for the ten-year period from 2014 to 2024. Among these “fastest growing occupations,” nurse practitioners are expected to experience a 35% growth in job opportunities, while the demand for home health aides is expected to grow by 38%. In all, 13 of the top 20 jobs projected to experience double-digit growth over the decade from 2014 to 2024 are in healthcare.
Only wind turbine service technicians are projected to experience greater job growth than healthcare professionals such as occupational therapist, physical therapist assistants, nurse practitioners, home health aides, physician assistants, etc. Indeed, the projected triple-digit growth in demand for this category is extraordinary. Fortunately, while working in healthcare requires more education, it is arguably far less dangerous than scaling high towers in all kinds of weather to service turbines. Even better, many nurses on average will be compensated at a higher rate than will turbine service technicians according to BLS.
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