Healthcare hiring continues on the rise, at its strongest point since the middle of 2010, according to data from Health Workforce Solutions (HWS) released Friday.
During the second quarter of 2012, markets in San Jose, Calif., and Portland, Ore., led the United States in healthcare hiring. New York, Las Vegas and Cleveland were at the bottom of the list of 30 markets, according to HWS, although company officials noted that large-scale layoffs may have skewed the data in the prior quarter.
"Near-term demand for health care workers continues to grow the fastest in the West, although certain markets such as Dallas and Charlotte have consistently outperformed much of the rest of the country over the last few quarters," the company said in a statement.
Portions of the Southeast, such as Atlanta, also have reported growth, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Meanwhile, healthcare as a share of overall employment reached 10.8 percent, the highest on record, reported AHA News Now.
HWS officials say healthcare hiring should remain robust throughout 2012.
"It is now much clearer to us that we are beginning to see a more consistent broad-based recovery in the health care labor markets nationwide. With the uncertainty of healthcare reform finally behind us, we expect the growth to continue through the rest of year," HWS Managing Partner David Cherner said in the statement.
For more:
- read the HWS list and press release (.pdf)
- here's the Atlanta Business Chronicle article
- read the AHA News Now brief