| The hottest jobs at the beginning of 2006 are in the medical, information technology and retail fields, according to a new report released by the Employment Security Department.
Based on a survey of 15,000 Washington businesses, registered nurses topped the list of occupations in highest demand for the third survey in a row, with an estimated 5,160 positions unfilled statewide.
It is the largest number of nursing vacancies since the Washington State Job Vacancy Survey began in 2002.
Computer-applications engineers ranked second with 2,776 job vacancies statewide, followed by cashiers with 2,414 openings.
Over all, an estimated 68,263 jobs went unfilled in Washington in October 2005, compared to 50,570 a year earlier.
While many of the occupations require some level of higher education or specialty training, almost half required a high school diploma or less. Not surprisingly, the wages being offered rose with the education required. Jobs with no educational requirement offered a median-starting wage of $8 per hour, compared to $22 for positions requiring a graduate degree.
Job seekers can learn more about prevalent occupations and search more than 27,000 jobs listed online at www.go2worksource.com or by visiting a local WorkSource center. There are more than 70 WorkSource centers statewide. |
