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In Ailing Economy, Health Careers Are In

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By LINDSAY PETERSON

lpeterson@tampatrib.com

Published: March 8, 2009

Feeling sick about the job market?

Go to a hospital. That's where the jobs are.

Health care is the only major industry showing solid growth in our shrinking economy, state economist Rebecca Rust said.

Manufacturing, retail and other major sectors shed 2 million jobs across the country last year, but the health care sector added 372,000. In the next seven years, it's expected to add 3 million more, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

Thank the increasing number of older people in the population who tend to use more health care services, particularly after they hit 65 and qualify for Medicare.

This is good news for Florida, where nearly 20 percent of the population is 65 and older.

Employers outside of health care also have openings, in engineering and information technology, for instance. But many are looking for people to fill niches that require years of training and experience. The health care jobs cover a spectrum, from entry-level records clerks to pharmacists.

Six of the 20 jobs ranked as the hottest in Florida through 2016 are in health care, according to the state Agency for Workforce Innovation. The hottest job is medical assisting, with about 1,300 openings a year.

A medical assistant's annual pay is not high, about $22,000 to $31,000. But many of these jobs require only vocational training, the state work force agency said, so they're useful for people who need to change careers fast.

The state also projects short- and long-term demand for pharmacy technicians, physician assistants, medical and public health social workers, dental hygienists and post-secondary health care educators.

"What's good about these medical occupations is that they are strong everywhere, in every city, in and out of Florida," Rust said. "Health care workers can be very mobile."

TGH Employment Rising

The demand is high, and growing, at Tampa General Hospital, said Chris Roederer, senior vice president of human resources. "People are still getting sick," he said. "They still need access to quality health care." Insurance reimbursement is steady, even though tens of thousands in the Bay area have lost their jobs.

Last year at this time the hospital employed 5,300 people. Today, that number is 5,832.

Registered nurses "are still our No. 1 need" among licensed workers, he said. Demand also is strong for physical therapists. But the hospital needs dozens of other people, from office workers to nursing assistants, Roederer said.

St. Joseph's Hospital plans to start hiring about 300 people this summer for a 76-bed hospital to be built in Lutz early next year.

Although hospitals are still hiring, overall, they're not hiring as many people as in the past, said Rebecca DeBoer of Tampa, who has been a hospital recruiter for 17 years.

"Last year at this time I would have had 20 openings for every qualified candidate. This year, I probably have two."

And demand in certain areas has dropped. Last year, jobs for radiology, CT scan and ultrasound technicians were hot, she said. Not this year.

Roederer confirmed that TGH didn't have a lot of these openings. "The volume is still there, but the turnover rate is lower than with other positions."

One trend DeBoer is seeing is an increasing demand for nursing assistants instead of licensed practical nurses, who have more training. "It's a way to cut costs," she said.

Likewise, demand is high for nurse practitioners and physician assistants who can fill in for doctors but don't cost as much. Both careers require at least a four-year degree, DeBoer said, but they can make $60,000 to $80,000 a year.

Seeing an unmet need for nursing education three years ago, for-profit South University opened a campus in Tampa, and enrollment has nearly doubled to about 450 students.

"We see a lot of people who have had this dream for a while, but this economy has spurred them to make the change," said President Dan Coble, former nursing director at TGH.

"If I were young and just going into school, I'd go into medicine," DeBoer said. "With almost all of these jobs, unless you get into management, you can almost name your hours. You could have a family and work on call as needed and still make a dandy salary but be home with your kids."

Edward Peachy, executive director of WorkNet Pinellas, said he would recommend engineering.

Although he's seeing the strong demand in health care, employers also are looking for engineers. The problem is, the openings require years of education and experience.

"But if you're just starting out, I would suggest you go to school to be an engineer," he said. "The demand is pretty stable."

Information technology is also steady.

"People who know IT are always going to have value and will land on their feet," he said. "They'll have to upgrade their skills, but people who are willing to do that will always be in good shape."

No. 2 on the state hot-jobs list behind medical assisting is computer network and data communications analyst, with a projected annual growth rate of more than 5 percent. Software engineers are also high on the list.

These jobs don't require four-year degrees, but they do call for several years of experience, the state work force agency said.

A Guide To Job Growth

Locally, the job picture is more limited. Hillsborough County needs nurses like everyone else, according to the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance. Beyond that, the fastest-growing jobs are in the service sector, where pay tends to be lower.

The highest demand is for customer service representatives and retail salespeople. Also high on the agency's list: restaurant servers, janitors and office clerks.

There is one problem with the state and the local lists. They don't take into account the drastic changes in the economy in the past few months, Rust said. Health care is still strong, but many of the other industries represented, retail sales, for instance, have pulled back faster than economists expected.

The lists are meant to be a guide to job growth over the next several years. And they assume an economic recovery, Rust said.

There's one job not on the list that's also in demand: economist. Events of the past several months have kept Rust hopping, she said. "It's a good job, but I don't recommend it for one's health. There's a lot of stress."

WHERE THE JOBS ARE
These are the positions that employers are filling now, state and local employment analysts say:

•Nurses
•Nursing assistants
•Medical records/office clerks
•Nurse practitioners
•Physician assistants
•Pharmacy workers
•Physical therapists
•Anesthesiologist assistants
•Paralegals
•Accountants

Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834.

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