Hospital computer and math science positions are on the uptick, with 17.9 percent growth between 2010 to 2014, according to a MedPAC analysis of Bureau of Labor statistics. That growth may reflect healthcare's efforts to transition to electronic health records.
Overall, hospital employment increased by 1.7 percent, with physicians and surgeons leading with the greatest increase (25.5 percent) over that time, the analysis found, with computer-related jobs in second place.
Life, physical and social science positions followed in third, with 16.5 percent growth; pharmacy and business and finance positions saw 12.5 and 10.9 percent growth, respectively, to round out the top five.
MedPAC saw growth in the overall number of hospital-employed physicians as a signal that hospitals have been more active in recent years in hiring physicians directly.
However, not all occupations exhibited growth. Licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses saw notable declines, as did office and administrative staff, clinical laboratory technicians and community and social service positions, such as social workers.
During that same time period, the number of LPN/LVNs dipped 30 percent, by roughly 44,000 jobs. In contrast, the number of registered nurses employed by hospitals increased by around 39,000 nurses, or 2.6 percent, suggesting a shift toward employing nurses with a higher level of training.
Industry-level data from the Bureau of Labor statistics indicates overall hospital employment increased 5 percent between May 2014 and January 2016. As of this January, hospitals accounted for about 3.4 percent of all non-farming employment in the United States.
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Email the writer: jessica.davis@himssmedia.com