Job seekers hunting for healthcare positions--or considering going back to school to change industries--will find a lot of good new on this list.
To determine the occupations with the strongest growth this year, SimplyHired reviewed the year over year change in job postings in each occupational category. More than half the jobs on this list had a greater than 10% increase in job postings in the past year.
Topping the list of occupations seeing the biggest increase in hiring is Pharmacy Technicians. Job postings in this category increased a healthy 27.7% over the past year. Operating Room Technicians follow close behind, with a year over year increase in job postings of 26.8%.
Registered Nurses, Physical Therapists, and Licensed Practical Nurses round out the top five, with 23.9%, 21.1%, and 17.89% increases in postings, respectively. Physician Assistants come in sixth with a 17.7% increase in posted jobs.
Hairdresser is the first position outside the healthcare industry to make its way onto this ranking, with healthy 16.3% growth in job postings over the past year. Taxi Driver--including Lyft and Uber drivers--saw a 15.7% boost in posted job opemings.
Further down the list, Insurance Sales Agent, Office Manager, and Bank Teller all make the list, as well as a number of IT jobs, including Software Developer, Information Security Analyst, and Computer Network Architect.
The 20 Occupations With The Strongest Growth This Year
1. Pharmacy Technicians
2. Operating Room Technicians
3. Registered Nurses
4. Physical Therapists
5. Licensed Practical Nurses
6. Physican Assistants
7. Hairdressers
8. Taxi Drivers (including Lyft and Uber drivers)
9. Insurance Sales Agents
10. Office Managers
11. Speech Pathologists
12. Medical Assistants
13. Personal Care Aides
14. Patient Representatives
15. Surgeons
16. Sales Engineers
17. Software Developers
18. Bank Tellers
19. Information Security Analysts
20. Computer Network Architects
In pictures: The 20 Occupations With The Strongest Growth This Year