MARYSVILLE, WA – Job candidates with IT experience or interest are not broadening their searches to include jobs in the healthcare IT field, even though experts say it’s ripe with opportunity, according to MedZilla.com.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that healthcare jobs increased by 34,000 in February – more than three times as many jobs as were created in January. And although layoffs were reported to be up in February, only 1,337 were in healthcare, according to outplacement consulting organization Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
“Healthcare remains a consistent growth industry in the U.S.,” said John Burkhardt, managing director of MedZilla.com, a website for professionals and employers in pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical sales, biotechnology, science and medicine.
“It's not just doctors and nurses, though, that are benefiting. As the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – healthcare reform – comes closer to its final effective date in 2014, information technology roles will continue to grow in both scope and number,” he said.
“People who never thought they'd be getting jobs in healthcare might someday be reporting to hospitals or medical technology firms,” Burkhardt added.
February's candidate search numbers from MedZilla.com speak to Burkhardt's point – companies seeking qualified applicants increased their search activities by 2.5 percent. Companies that increased candidate searches in general were mostly located in California (up 4 percent) and New Jersey (3.1 percent); however, numbers dropped significantly in North Carolina and Texas – both down 3.3 percent. Job postings by employers and job searches by applicants remained fairly even, month-to-month, with only New Jersey showing a significant change – up 1.3 percent in postings and 1.2 percent in searches.
“We haven't seen corresponding changes – in New Jersey or anywhere else – with technology-minded applicants looking for jobs in healthcare information technology,” said Del Johnston, MedZilla's manager of client relations. “Our numbers for the past few months haven't shifted much one way or the other. It's still very possible to scoop everyone else and try to get in on the ground floor with healthcare IT.”
