Healthcare dominates list of toughest jobs to fill in 2018
The list focuses on positions employers are actively pursuing, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts and graduation rates.
There are a lot of factors that contribute to how difficult a job position is to fill, from a lack of new graduates in the profession to a simple shortage of people with the necessary skills, to say nothing of basic industry growth. Healthcare employers may have a tough time this year, as healthcare positions make up half of CareerCast's top 10 toughest jobs to fill in 2018.
Home health aid ranked fourth on the list, and first among jobs in the healthcare field. The reason it's projected to be a difficult position to fill is a high growth outlook, with a substantial number of job openings expected. In all, demand for home health aids is projected to grow 47 percent over the next eight years.
Medical services manager took the sixth spot. This position, with a median salary of more than $90,000, has a projected growth of 20 percent. Nurse practitioners, with about a $107,000 median salary and a 31 percent projected growth outlook, came in seventh.
Personal care aides took the eighth spot with a 39 percent growth outlook, translating into roughly 750,000 new positions in the field in less than a decade's time. With projected growth of 34 percent, physical therapists landed in the nine spot, rounding out the healthcare positions in CareerCast's list.
Non-healthcare positions on the list include application software developers (first), construction laborers (second), financial advisors (third), information security analysts (sixth), and truck drivers (tenth).
The list focuses on positions employers are actively pursuing, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts, trade and professional association data, graduation rates and CareerCast.com's own database of job listings.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
