Career Exploration

Health Care Jobs in Alaska

Introduction

The health care industry provides many jobs in Alaska and is one of the state’s fastest growing industries. Below you will find some highlights that describe some of the trends in this field. This information is from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Research and Analysis Section. For more detailed information on the current status and future forecasts of health care jobs in Alaska, be sure to visit their web site: http://almis.labor.state.ak.us/ for occupational information, industry forecasts, Alaska Economic Trends magazine and much more!

An Overview

According to Fried and Keith of the April 2003 issue of the Alaska Department Labor’s Alaska Economic Trend magazine:

The health services industry is the fastest growing, and one of the larger sectors of Alaska’s economy. It’s a billion-dollar industry, and it employs about 22,000 people. It would be hard to find an industry in Alaska with a growth pattern as strong and sustained as that of health care.

Employment settings range from private practice physicians with one employee to large urban hospitals providing hundreds of diverse jobs. Health related occupations include many specializations and have a wide variety of educational and skill requirements. Employment is widely distributed throughout the state, making health related careers viable choices in both urban and rural Alaska. (p. 3)

As shown in the pie chart below many health care jobs in Alaska continue to occur in the rural regions of our state. (Note: this data is from 2006.)

*Rural excludes Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Mat-Su and Kenai Peninsula, 2006
Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
Research and Analysis Section

Employment in Hospitals and Medical Offices:

Fried and Keith (2003) found:

In 2002, hospitals were responsible for nearly 44 percent of all wage and salary employment in the state-not greatly different from the rest of the nation….One reason that hospitals are such big employers is they provide around-the-clock care and are very labor intensive. Three shifts of workers cycle through these hospitals each day. Because of this labor intensity it is not unusual for hospitals to be the largest or near largest employer in a community.” (p. 6)

More than a third of all health services employees work in doctor and dentist offices. Over the past decade employment in doctors’ offices has more than doubled, making it one of the fastest growing segments of the health services industry.” (p. 7)

In 2006, hospital employment continued to employ a high percentage of health care workers, as did the ambulatory services such as medical and dental offices and other miscellaneous health care practitioners.

*includes public sector
Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
Research and Analysis Section
Note: Ambulatory would include medical offices, dental offices, and other miscellaneous health practitioners.

Replacement Needs for Health Care Workers

Fried and Keith (2003) found:

In addition, to new jobs resulting from employment growth, job opportunity also results from the need to replace workers who retire, enter other occupations, or leave the labor force for other reasons. Retirement, and thus the age of incumbent workers, plays a major role in the future need for workers in high skilled occupations. Ten of the 17 health related occupations requiring a BA or more face major future workforce replacement needs. Based on 2001 data, over 40 percent of the workers in these occupations will reach retirement age within the next 15 years. Of the health related occupations requiring either an AA degree or significant postsecondary vocational training, one-third face similar replacement needs. (p. 10)

Note: Most of the above information is taken from the Alaska Department of Labor’s Workforce Development Alaska Economic Trend’s magazine-Alaska’s Health Care Industry, April 2003. For the full reprint, go to http://labor.state.ak.us/trends/apr03.pdf

Alaska Department of Labor’s 10-Year Industry Forecast: 2004-2014

According to Cannon and Lee of the November 2006 issue of the Alaska Department Labor’s Alaska Economic Trend magazine:

The employment category that combines health care and social assistance employers – social assistance includes everything from food banks to day care providers and vocational rehabilitation services – will add more jobs than any other category and will supplant retail trade with the most total jobs. The health care and social assistance category was among the fastest growing in the state from 1994 to 2004 and both components should enjoy faster than average growth through 2014. Over 43,600 jobs are projected in this industry in Alaska in 2014, up 33.5 percent from the 32,700 in 2004. Three-quarters of the employment is expected to be in the health care component and about a quarter in the social assistance component. (p. 8)

Projected Changes in Employment
By Industries in Alaska, 2004 to 2014

Alaska’s significant health care investments over the past decade are paying off. As more facilities are built, equipped and staffed, Alaskans are finding they can get most of their health care needs taken care of in-state. This not only saves on expensive trips to Outside specialists and providers, but it offers good-paying jobs to health care professionals and support staff within Alaska. As facilities become fully staffed, employment growth may stabilize and slow slightly.

Alaska has a lower median age than that of the nation as a whole, but the state still has an aging population that will require more and specialized care in the future. While much of the infrastructure needed to provide that care is in place, more will be needed. That need is likely to spur growth in both health care and social assistance jobs. (p. 8-9)

Note: The information above is taken from the Alaska Department of Labor’s Workforce Development Alaska Economic Trend’s magazine- November 2006. For the full reprint, go to http://www.labor.state.ak.us/research/trends/nov06ind.pdf

This page was last updated by Janice Troyer on October 26, 2007