NH Business: Most new NH job growth in health care & social assistance to serve 65+ population growth

WANT WITH THE FREE, VERY LOCAL APP. WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE’S BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER. HERE’S A TIP FOR THOSE JOB HUNTING THE MOST AND NEW, NEW HAMPSHIRE JOB GROWTH BETWEEN NOW AND 2032 IS PROJECTED TO BE IN HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE. ALREADY THE LARGEST SECTOR IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, EMPLOYING OVER 92,000 WORKERS IN RECENT YEARS. MY GUEST WILL EXPLAIN IN A MINUTE. NOW TAKE A LOOK AT THIS GRAPH. A HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE EMPLOYMENT. IT SHOWS THE STEEP EMPLOYMENT DROP IN HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND THE GRADUAL RECOVERY SINCE. IT’S THE BIGGEST EMPLOYMENT SECTOR IN NEW HAMPSHIRE NOW, NEW HAMPSHIRE EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS BY INDUSTRY, HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE ALONE ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN 9100 PROJECTED NEW JOBS, AN INCREASE OF NEARLY 10%. WITH ME TO EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON WITH JOBS AND HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE IS AN ECONOMIST WHO IS DIRECTOR OF THE ECONOMIC AND LABOR MARKET INFORMATION BUREAU AT THE NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY. BRIAN GOTTLIEB, THAT’S A MOUTHFUL. I HERE IN THE STUDIO. THANKS, BRIAN. NICE TO BE HERE. UH, YOUR RESEARCH SHOWS THAT HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE EMPLOYMENT HAS RECOVERED SLOWLY FROM THE PRE-PANDEMIC YEARS. RIGHT. UH, WITH HEALTH CARE IN PARTICULAR RELYING ON TEMPORARY LABOR. LABOR, SO-CALLED TRAVELING NURSE. YEAH. UM, SO EXPLAIN THE TWO PARTS OF THIS NEXT GRAPH THAT WE’RE PUTTING UP ON THE SCREEN. UH, THE BAR, THE BAR ON THE LEFT, UH, IN PARTICULAR, HAS TWO PIECES, ONE PIECE IS VERY STEEP AND ONE PIECE ON THE TOP IS VERY THIN. JUST TELL US WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT. YEAH. THE MAJOR PART OF THAT BAR JUST SHOWS THE EMPLOYMENT PRE-PANDEMIC, BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. AND THAT LITTLE PORTION AT THE TOP JUST SHOWS THE NUMBER OF JOBS IN HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED SINCE THAT TIME. SO IT’S A VERY SMALL NUMBER. WHEN WE LOOK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS GRAPHIC, YOU SEE WHAT OUR ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT JOBS, PRIMARILY THOSE ARE TEMPORARY HELP AGENCIES, EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES AND WHAT YOU SEE THERE IS THAT THERE’S BEEN A VERY BIG INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENT IN THOSE IN THAT INDUSTRY, AND THAT’S LARGELY THE RESULT OF HEALTH CARE INDUSTRIES HAVING TO REACH OUT TO THOSE TO HIRE TEMPORARY AND TRAVELING NURSES, ETC. RIGHT. I VISITED A FAMILY MEMBER RECENTLY, BRIAN, IN A HOSPITAL IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND SHE HAD JUST HAD SURGERY AND I NOTICED THAT THE STAFFING ON THE WARD WAS VERY THIN COMPARED TO THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS BECAUSE I USED TO WORK IN HOSPITALS. SO I KIND OF LOOK FOR THAT, UH, AND SO WHAT’S DRIVING HEALTH CARE EMPLOYMENT. RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE’RE OUT OF THE PANDEMIC? YEAH, IT’S REALLY HEALTH CARE HAS REALLY BEEN ON THE FRONT LINES OF A COUPLE OF MAJOR ISSUES. ONE, DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES AS THE POPULATION GETS OLDER, IT DEMANDS MORE HEALTH CARE. HEALTH CARE DEMAND GOES UP IN ADDITION, DURING THE PANDEMIC, HEALTH CARE INDUSTRIES SUFFERED SOME OF THE LARGEST EMPLOYMENT LOSSES. UM, WORKING IN A HOSPITAL, AS YOU MENTIONED, VERY STRESSFUL JOB. SO YOU SAW PEOPLE EXIT HOSPITALS, MAYBE GOING TO OTHER HEALTH CARE, AMBULATORY HEALTH CARE, MAYBE EVEN TO RETAIL INDUSTRIES THAT INCREASINGLY HAVE CLINICS FOR HEALTH CARE. SO THEY HAVE REALLY BEEN ON THE FRONT LINES. HOSPITALS, NURSING CARE FACILITIES. THOSE ARE THE TWO INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE REALLY SUFFERED, REALLY. AND IT CONTINUES TO SOME DEGREE. LET’S PUT THIS NEXT GRAPH UP, BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY STUNNING. UH, PERHAPS THE MOST EYE OPENING GRAPH YOU’VE PROVIDED IS THIS PROJECTED GROWTH IN HEALTH CARE, EMPLOYMENT COMPARED TO THE PROJECTED GROWTH OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE POPULATION AGED 65 PLUS? JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE TWO LINES. UH, BRIAN JUST DESCRIBED THAT. YEAH. WHAT YOU SEE IN THE LINE AT THE TOP, WHICH IS THE POPULATION AGE 65 AND ABOVE, BASICALLY WHAT IT SHOWS IS THAT DURING THAT 20 YEAR PERIOD FROM 2010 TO 2030, THE POPULATION OF 65 AND ABOVE IS GOING TO DOUBLE. NOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE GRAPHS BELOW THAT, WE SEE OVERALL POPULATION GROWTH EXPECTED TO GROW MUCH MORE SLOWLY. AND WE’RE OUT OF TIME. BRIAN GOTLEIB, ECONOMIST AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE ECONOMIC AND LABOR MARKET INFORMATION BUREAU AT THE DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY IN CONCORD. THANK YOU. THANKS. IF YOU MISSED PART OF THIS BRIEFING, YOU CAN