Healthcare workforce to grow in Maine

The Maine Department of Labor predicts that the employment in the healthcare sector will continue to grow in the state because of Maine’s aging population.
 
As members of the Baby Boom generation become senior citizens, increased demand for healthcare services and a shrinking workforce mean plenty of healthcare-related jobs will be open, according to Maine Workforce Outlook 2014-2024.  In fact, Healthcare and Social Assistance is the largest sector, with 100,000 jobs.
 
Ambulatory healthcare services, with a projected gain of 3,728 jobs, and hospitals, with a projected gain of 2,310 jobs, make up two of the three industries with the largest projected job growth between 2014 and 2024.  
 
The increase in healthcare jobs is part of a larger trend of more employment requiring skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).  Nearly 40 percent of STEM jobs are in the healthcare sector.  And healthcare jobs are among the best paying of the STEM jobs, the report says.