Perspectives on Utah’s Economy

November/December 2009

Department of Workforce Services

healthcarein utah

Health Spending—an Ever Larger Slice of the Pie

Economic News pg. 8

Healthcare Jobs with theBest Employment Outlook

Economic Insight pg. 10

2 November/December 2009

DWS-03-44-0909

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The Workforce Development and

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Trendlines

Utah Department of Workforce Services

Executive Director

Kristen Cox

Workforce Development and Information

Stephen Maas, Director

Stacey Joos, Assistant Director

Kimberley Bartel, Editor

Contributors

Mark Knold

John Mathews

John Krantz

Jim Robson

Lecia Langston

Linda Marling Church

Kimberley Bartel

Cheryl S. Smith

Coordination

Connie Blaine

Designer

Pat Swenson

jobs.utah.gov

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 3

Perspectives on Utah’s Economy

November/December 2009

Department of Workforce Services

healthcarein utah

Health Spending—an

Ever Larger Slice of the PieEconomic News pg. 8

Healthcare Jobs with the

Best Employment OutlookEconomic Insight pg. 10

5 We're Getting CloseWasatch Front and Statewide

6Using Local Employment Dynamics

Data to Better Understand the Healthcare Industry

The Outlook

8Health Spending—an Ever Larger

Slice of the PieEconomic News

10Which Healthcare Occupations Have

the Best Employment Outlook?Economic Insight

12 Is the Recession Easing Up?National News

14 What is Healthcare? The IndustryWhat's Happening

17There's a New Education & Career

Planning System in Town: UtahFutures.orgInsider News

18 Pharmacist: On DutyOccupations

20 Utah Health ExchangeOur Guest

21 Iron CountyCounty Highlight

22 Netting a Job on the InternetDWS News

24Hospital Wages: A Rural/Urban

ComparisonThe Outskirts

27 Just the Facts...Rate Update

contents

Healthcarein Utah

pg. 24

pg. 6

4 November/December 2009

wasatch front and statewide | by mark knold, chief economist

jobs.utah.gov/wi

Although employment numbers are still falling, there are indica-tions arising to suggest that the

Utah employment slide is close to find-ing its bottom. One factor is that num-bers cannot move down at an acceler-ating rate indefinitely. They eventually reach a point where a downward run loses its negative momentum. Some-times the momentum breaker is an improvement in the economy itself, as job hiring picks up. Other times, as is probably the current case, the improve-ment comes with time and simple mathematics.

The year-over percentage of job growth (or loss) is calculated by comparing the most recent employment number to that of one year ago. As we move forward in time, the year-prior reference date will begin to capture the steep employment losses of the recession. Consequently, while Utah is still experiencing job losses, those job losses will be fewer in comparison to those experienced during the height of the recession. Therefore, the rate of employment decline will begin to moderate.

Still, job gains in a recession-busting quantity are also not just around the corner. IHC Global Insights, a Massachusetts-based economic think tank and consulting firm, estimates that the United States is only using 65 percent of its production capacity. If so, that is an historic low in the post World War II environment. That means there is plenty of room for the nation to kick its production into a higher gear without a corresponding need to kick up its number of new workers.

There is much evidence that the nation’s existing workforce is not utilized to its full potential. Extensive furloughs and full-time workers working less than full-time hours suggest the economy needs to fully use those who are currently employed more than it needs to add more workers to the nation’s payrolls.

This is also true for the Utah economy. It will be a while before the nation’s (and Utah’s) production capacity and labor force are pushed back to a level where additional workers, en masse, are needed to raise the nation’s output.

Did You Know...

We're Getting Close

Construction crews began •heavy work to build the six-mile light-rail track that will connect downtown to the Salt Lake City International Airport. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705327416/Work-begins-on-airport-TRAX-line.html

Utah is using state money •and federal stimulus funds to leverage long-term research projects with a commercial potential. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13286420

University of Utah researchers •have secured more than $7 million in federal money to explore ways to make geothermal wells more productive. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_13293581

It will be a while before the nation’s (and Utah’s) production capacity and labor force are pushed back to a level where additional workers, en masse, are needed to raise the nation’s output.

Trendlines 5

6 November/December 2009

the outlook | by lecia parks langston, economist

As a data geek, I love to wax rhapsodic about LocalEmployment Dynamics (LED) data. This melding ofstatisticsbytheU.S.CensusBureauprovidesindustry-

level demographic information never before available fordata-geek consumption. This LED data reveals importantinsights about Utah’s recession-resistant healthcare/socialservicesindustry.

Before we get started, let’s talk about the inevitable“caveats.” Typically, Department of Workforce Serviceshealthcare/socialservicedataincludesonlyprivately-ownedestablishments. However, for the purposes of this article,we’ll be looking at the characteristics of all healthcare/social services industry jobs—both private and public.Except. . .federaldata is excluded.TheCensusBureauhasyet toobtain thepertinent information itneeds from thefederal government (go figure). Employment numbers are2008averages.Otherfiguresrepresentthemostrecentfourquartersendingwith the thirdquarterof2008.Allfiguresrepresentthemostcurrentdataavailable.

War of the SexesTheagedistributionofthehealthcare/socialservicesindustrytracksverycloselywiththeoverallagestructureinthelabormarket.Themaindifferenceappearsintheslightlysmaller

shareofteenagersworkinginthehealthcare/socialservicessector.However,perhapsthemoststrikingcharacteristicofthedata occurs in the gender breakdown. Statewide,menaccount for 54 percent of total employment.However, inthehealthcare/socialservicesindustries,menaccountforaminor28percentshare.Yes,womenheavilydominatethisindustry’semployment.

Wage GapInaddition,thedifferencebetweenmaleandfemalewagesis huge. For men, the average monthly wage measuresalmost $5,300.Women post an averagemonthlywage ofjustmorethan$2,400.Inotherwords,onaveragewomenmake 45 percent of men’s wages in the healthcare/socialservicesindustry.Thecomparablestatewidefiguremeasures56percent.Partofthedifferenceinwagesmaybeduetothefactthatwomentypicallyworkfewerhoursthandomen.However,mostofthegapundoubtedlyreflectstheclusteringofwomenin lower-paidoccupationsandtheclusteringofmen in higher-paid occupations. In general, healthcare/socialservicesworkersmakeslightlylessthanworkersinallindustriescombined.

To learn more about the healthcare/social services industry:http://lehd.did.census.gov/led/datatools/qwiapp.html

Using Local Employment Dynamics Data to

Better Understand the Healthcare Industry

46%

54%

5%

27%

19%

11%

3%

72%

28%

2%

16%

28%

20%

12%

Female Male

14-1

8

19-2

4

25-3

4

35-4

4

45-5

4

55-6

4

65-9

9All Industries

Healthcare/Social Services

AGE

GEND

ER

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ce: U

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ensu

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Em

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men

t D

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otal

Utah Healthcare/Social Services Industry Characteristics 2008

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 7

•Workersinambulatoryhealthcareservices(doctors/dentistsoffices,clinics,etc.)showthehighestaveragewages,whilehospitalsdisplaythehighestnew-hirewages.

•Ambulatoryhealthcareservicescreatedthemostnewjobsandgeneratedthemostnew2008hiresofanyhealthcare/socialservicessubsector.Thissubsectoralsoshowedthelargesttotalemployment.

•Nursing/residentialcarefacilitiesshowedthehighestturnoverratewhilehospitalsshowedthelowestturnover.

Utah Healthcare/Social Services Industry Employment

Four-Quarter Average ending Third Quarter 2008

46,9

97

5,90

4

2,15

5

35,4

73

2,39

8

452

$3,4

84

$2,2

69

20,6

51

5,14

5

1,22

2

$2,0

71

$1,5

29

15,5

49

3,10

1

899

$2,1

27

$1,2

76

$2,0

96

$3,7

60

Ambulatory Healthcare

Hospitals

Nursing/Residential Care Facilities

Social Assistance

Total Employment

AverageQuarter New

Hires AverageQuarter Job

Creation

AverageMonthlyEarnings

AverageNew Hire Earnings

Source: U.S. Census Bureau; Local Employment Dynamics.

8 November/December 2009

economic news | by jim robson, economist

Individually and collectively bybusinesses and government, anever-increasing proportion of

ourtotalconsumptiongoestowardhealthcare. The most widely usedmeasureforthetotaldollarvalueofall goods and services produced intheU.S.economyisGrossDomesticProduct (GDP). In 1960healthcareaccounted for 5.2 percent of GDP.Theproportionofnationalproduc-tiongoingtohealthcarehassteadilyincreased over almost 50 years toreachanestimated16.6percentofGDPin2008.

Analystswhohave studied theun-derlying causes of this dramaticgrowth in healthcare spending inrecent decades cite the followingreasons:Newmedical technologiesand services are constantly emerg-ingandbecomingwidelyused.Themajor advances inmedical scienceallowpractitionerstodiagnoseandtreatillnessesinwaysthatwerenotpreviously possible. Many health-care innovations require costlynew drugs, equipment and skills.

New treatments also increase costsas they are rapidly adopted by anexpanding number of patients. Ofcourse, some technological advancesdo reduce spending, but overall,medical technology and clinicalpractices have overwhelmingly in-creasedcosts.

Over time,asourwealth increases,people naturally allocate more oftheir spending to healthcare. Thedemand for medical care tends toriseasreal(inflationadjusted)fam-ily income increases. This resultmanifestsitselfintheincreaseduseof insurancecoverageinrecentde-cades and the greater demand byconsumersforhealthcaregoodsandservicestoimprovethequalityandlongevityoftheirlives.

Withthegrowthofinsurancecover-age,asevidencedbyasubstantialre-ductioninout-of-pockethealthcarespending,moremedicalservicesareused than would otherwise be de-manded if the costsweremore di-rectlybornebytheconsumer.

Another importantsourceofmedi-calspendinggrowthistheagingofthepopulation.Asoneages,thede-mand formedical intervention in-creases.WiththepostWorldWarIIbabyboomgenerationmovingintotheir senior years, the demand formedicaltreatmentsandserviceswillincreasesignificantly.

Anotherwaytolookattheincreaseinhealthcarespendingistocompareoverall consumerprice inflation tomedicalpriceinflation(asmeasuredbytheconsumerpriceindex).From1960to2008,medicalinflationhasbeen2.24timestheoverallincreaseinconsumerprices.

It is interesting to note that theUnited States is the only modernindustrializedcountrythatdoesnotprovide some kind of healthcarecoverage for all its citizens. Yet in2007,outofthe30mostindustrial-izedcountries,theU.S.spent16per-centofitsGDPonhealthcare,whilenoother country spentmore than11percent.

HealthSpending—anEverLargerSlice

ofthePie

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 9

P* = projectionsSource: Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Office of the Acturary.

Sour

ce: U

.S. B

urea

u of

Lab

or S

tati

stic

s.

U.S.HealthSpendingas a share of Gross Domestic Product

(for selected years)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2006 2007P* 2008P*

Medical inflation has

been over two times the overall

increase in consumer prices.

As our wealth increases, we usually divvy out more of our spending on healthcare.

26%

98%

71%

34%29%

48%

112%

121%

68%

45%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000-08

All Consumer Prices Medical Care

Percent Change in

U.S.ConsumerPricesby Decade

10 November/December 2009

Which Healthcare Occupations Have

economic insight | by lecia parks langston, economist

The recent economic downturnproves one very important point.Whilethehealthcareindustrymay

notberecession-proof,itiscertainlyre-cession-resistant.Itistheonemajorin-dustryinUtahthatcontinuestocreateadditional job opportunities despite

recession. Moreover, healthcare oc-cupationswillcontinuetoprovidesomeofthebestemploymentop-portunitiesintheyearsahead.

But,howdoyousortthroughourprojectionsdatatodeter-minewhichoccupationsoffer

thebestemploymentoutlook?You can examine growth ratesor projected openings. Keep inmind that openings result bothfrom growth and replacementof individualswhohave left theoccupation.Boththeseindicatorshave their merits. However, wesuggest you consider thenumberof projected openings first, then

lookatthegrowthrate.

The Best Figure. . .Here’swhy:Ourmost recent10-yearprojections(through2016)showphy-sician assistants with a high growthrate—more than 5 percent per year.Registerednursesareprojectedtodis-play an average annual growth rateof4percent.But,considerthis:pro-jectionsshowalmost1,000openingsfornursesperyearcomparedtoonly40forphysicianassistants.

Whichoccupationprovidesthemostopportunity for employment suc-

cess?It’sregisterednurses.Inotherwords,don’tbedeceivedbyahighgrowthrate.Insmalloccupations,rapidgrowthmaystillresultinfewjobopenings.

InUtah,theregisterednurseoccupationisprojectedtoproduce(byfar)thehighestnumberofopeningsbetween2006and2016.Thenextfouroccupationswith large numbers of openings (nursing aides/or-derlies,homehealthaides,medicalassistants,dentalassistants)fallinthe“healthcaresupport”category.

These occupations are the least skilled of the totalhealthcaregroup.Moretechnicallyorientedoccupa-tionswithlargenumbersofopeningsincludephar-macytechnicians,licensedpracticalnurses,medicalrecords technicians and dental hygienists. Higher-skilled healthcare occupations in demand includephysicians(ofallspecialties),dentists,andpharma-cists(alongwithregisterednurses).

Nice to Know. . .Of course, growth rates are helpful in knowingwhichoccupationsareexpandingrapidly.Onaver-age,healthcareoccupationsareexpectedtoexpandata4percentannual rate—noticeablyhigher thanthe2.8percentrateforalloccupations.Interestinglyenough,oftheninefastest-growinghealthcareoccu-pations,fivefallinthelower-skilledsupportcatego-ry,threearetechnicaloccupations,andonlyone—physician assistant—hails from the highly skilled“practitioner”category.

It’s in the StarsFinally,wehaveonelastwaytolookatoccupations.Starratingscombineemploymentoutlook(basedonbothopeningsandgrowthrate)andwagestorankoccupations.Five-staroccupationshavethebestem-ploymentoutlookandthebestwagesofoccupationsintheirparticulartraininglevel.Thehealthcareoccu-pationsattherightreceivedafive-starrating.

the Best Employment Outlook? Untangling the

Projections Data

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 11jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 11

CardiovascularTechnologists•andTechnicians

DentalHygienists•

Dentists,General•

FamilyandGeneral•Practitioners

OccupationalTherapist•Assistants

Pharmacists•

PharmacyTechnicians•

PhysicalTherapists•

PhysicianAssistants•

RegisteredNurses•

RespiratoryTherapists•

Five-star Healthcare

Occupations

For more information about the employment outlook for various occupations:http://jobs.utah.gov/opencms/wi/occi.html

Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services.

980

410

340

340

280

270

200

140

130

120

110

100

Registered Nurses

Nursing Aides/Orderlies

Home Health Aides

Medical Assistants

Dental Assistants

Total Physicians

Pharmacy Technicians

Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses

Medical Records Technicians

Dentists

Pharmacists

Dental Hygienists

SupportPractitioners Technical

AverageAnnual

Openings

980

4%

2.8%

7.3%

5.9%

5.4%

5.4%

5.3%

5.3%

5.2%

5.1%

5%

All Occupations

Total Healthcare Occupations

Home Health Aides

Medical Assistants

Physical Therapist Assistants

Pharmacy Technicians

Dental Assistants

Physical Therapist Aides

Veterinary Technicians

Dental Hygienists

Physican Assistants

SupportPractitioners Technical

AnnualAverageGrowth

Rate

Utah Healthcare

Occupations with the

Most Openings 2006-2016

Utah Fastest Growing Healthcare Occupations

2006-2016

12 November/December 2009

national news | by mark knold, chief economist

There ismuch talk in themedia that the recession isbeginningtoloosenitsgriponthenation’seconomy.It is still tooearly todefinitively say the recession is

easing,butthefactthattherearecurrentlyconflictingsignalsabout the economy in the various statistics is probably asignalinandofitselfthattherecessionislosingitsgrip.

Historically,whenonefollowsthecycleofarecession,intheinitialanddevelopingstagestherearebasicallynoeconomicvariablessendinganytypeofpositivesignal.Itisquiteclearthatallthingsarenegative.Butoncearecessionapproachesor even reaches its eventual bottom, history shows theeconomicsignalsbecomemixed.Somebeginpointingup;otherskeeppointingdown.Thatappearstobethecurrentmessagefromthenationaleconomiclandscape.

Thehousingmarketwasbothastartingpointandamajorcasualtyofthisrecession.Yet,recentdatasuggeststhattheworstforthisindustryinnowbehindus.Salesofbothnewandexistinghomesarebeginningtoriseonceagain,andthehome-priceslideseemstohavestabilized.

Another factor is the second-quarter performance of theGrossDomesticProduct (GDP).Though it stillproducedafourthquarter ina rowofdecliningGDP, thedeclinewasnot as deep as anticipated.Most analysts are expecting apositiveGDPnumberforthethirdquarterof2009.Businessinventoriesarewaydownandappeartoneedreplenishing.

Infact,thisinventoryshortfallisthemainvariabledrivingmanyeconomicanalyststoassumethattherewillbeGDPgrowthinthesecondhalfof2009.

Thentherearethesignalsfromthedownside.Unemploymentclaimsarestillhigh,thoughtrendingdownward.JoblossesarestillbeingcountedonamonthlybasisbytheBureauofLaborStatistics,andtheunemploymentrateisstilltrendinghigherandexpectedtokeepgoinghigher.

Inarecession,unemploymentwillactuallybeoneofthelastindicators to shift fromnegative topositive.Thishasalsobeenobservedinpastrecessions.Particularlydeeprecessions,likethisone,producemanydiscouragedworkers—thosewhohavelostajobandhavealsogivenuplookingforanewjob.Therefore,theyarenotofficiallycountedasunemployed.Butwhenmanyoftheseidlelaborerssensethattheeconomyisimprovingandthattheymaynowbeabletofindajob,theybecomeactiveagaininthelaborforce.Whentheydo,theybecomeclassifiedasunemployed.Sothisactuallycausestheunemploymentratetoriseevenfurther,puttingafinalspikeonthatvariable’slongrecessionaryrise.

Therecessiondoesappeartobelosingitsgrip.Butdoesthatmeantherecessionisover?It’stemptingtosaythatitis,butarecessionlosingitsgripdoesnothavetomeanarecessiongone.Ifnothingelse,though,looseningitsgripisthefirststepintherightdirection.

IstheRecessionEasingUp?

A recession losing its grip does not mean a recession gone

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 13Trendlines 13jobs.utah.gov/wi

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis * Chain-weighted 2005 dollars

U.S.GrossDomesticProductPercentChangefromPrecedingQuarter*

what's happening | by john mathews, economist

AboutoneintenUtahworkersisemployed inhealthcare.Wheredo these healthcare workers

work? The broad industry sector ofhealthcareisdividedupintofoursub-industries.Mostpeoplethinkifyouareinhealthcare,youworkat ahospital.Not so. Only about 27 percent, or30,900,ofall114,400Utahhealthcareindustryjobs,areinhospitals.Didyouknowtherearedifferenthospitaltypes?Mosthospitalsare“generalmedicalandsurgical”butnearly4,000workersareemployedinpsychiatricandsubstanceabusefacilities,andthereareanumberof rehabilitation and transitional carehospitalsaswell.

Thelargesthealthcaresub-industrysec-toris“ambulatoryhealthcareservices.”It accounts for 40 percent of totalhealthcare workers, or 46,100. Theseare the doctors offices in clinics, out-patientcarecenters,laboratories,homehealthcare,andothers.InUtah,nearly4,900 establishments were active inthissub-sector.Mostoftheseofficesaresmallintermsofemployment.

Another21,300employeesworkinthesub-sector of “nursing and residentialcare facilities.” In 2008, nearly 500of these establishments were activearoundthestate.

Thelastsub-sectorissocialassistance.Itincludesindividualandfamilyservices,vocational rehabilitation services,emergencyandotherreliefservices,andchildcareservices.Combined,about14percentoftotalhealthcareworkers,or16,100, are employed in this industrythathasabout960firms.

Is healthcare a growing industry?

Yes, and it is largely theonly industrygrowing at this time. Healthcare isgenerally recession-resistant, notrecession-proof. Still, the industrycontinuestogroweven in lightof theshrinking broader economy. In 2008,employment inhealthcaregrewbyanannual rate of 5.3 percent. ComparedtoUtah’soveralltotalgrowthrateof0.1percent,that’sgrowthatlightspeed.Aspopulation grows and baby boomersage (the first baby boomers reach age65in2011),thedemandforhealthcarecontinuestoincrease.Regardlessofthemethod of healthcare reform that iscurrently being implemented, peoplewillstillneedhealthcareservices.

Healthcare Wages—Across a Wide Spectrum, Big Bucks and Small Cents

Wages in healthcare span the rangefromthehighestofalloccupationsinthestatetosomeofthelowestwages.There is adirect relationshipbetweeneducation and earnings. Those atthe top of the earning list are themedical professionals that includephysicians, surgeons and dentists—thoseprofessionsthatrequireextensivetraining and professional licensure.Also included in the top earnings aremedical and health managers. Mostof the high-level occupations in thisgrouphadannualearningsinexcessof$100,000.

What is Healthcare?

The Industry

Utah Healthcare Industry Sub-Sectors as a Percent of Total Healthcare Employment

& Number of Firms in 2008

Total Healthcare

Employment = 114,400

Nursing & Residential Care

19%500 �rms

Hospitals

27%70 �rms

Social Assist. (Family Svcs., Voc. Rehab., Child Care)

14%960 �rms

Ambulatory (doctors o�ces, labs, home health, other)

40%4,900 �rms

Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services, Workforce Information.

14 November/December 2009

continued on page 16

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 15

Healthcare Technologists& Technicians

23.4%Healthcare Support Aides

& Assistants

32.8%

Health Diagnosing & Treating Practitioners

40.9%

Medical & Health Service Managers

2.9%

*2006 employment estimate. Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services, Workforce Information.

Utah Healthcare Occupational Employment*

Total Healthcare Occupational

Employment = 85,230

The next group of healthcareoccupationsincludesthetechnologistsand technicians. These job titlesreportedmedianwagesfrom$23,000toabout$65,000.Thereisamixoftrainingrequirementsforthetechnologistsandtechniciansthatassistthepractitioners.Some require very little training andsome must have a bachelor’s degreeandbelicensed.These15occupationsinclude cardiovascular technologistsandtechnicians,LPNs,labtechnologistsand technicians, nuclear medicinetechnologists, opticians, radiologictechnologists and technicians, andothers.

Healthcare workers that support theabove two groups are the aides andassistants.Theyworkinthefollowinghealthcareareas:dental,homehealth,medical (assistants), transcriptionists,nurse aides, occupational therapy,physicaltherapy,andothers.Typically,assistantsearnmorethanaides.Wagesin these support titles typically earn$20,000 to $30,000 per year, butsome, like the occupational assistantsand physical therapy assistants,makearound$40,000.

Industry With a Future

Healthcarewillbecomeanevenmoreimportant industry as America’spopulation ages and needs morehealth-related attention. People arenot only working longer but livinglonger.Thisindustrywillprovidegreatcareer opportunities for that segmentof theworkforce interested in servinginhealthcare.

For more information on the healthcare industry in Utah see the industry fact sheet on line: http://jobs.utah.gov/openc-ms/wi/statewide/ifsheets/healthcare.pdf

what's happening | by john mathews, economist

16 November/December 2009

continued from page 14

Utah Healthcare Occupations 2008 Median Wages

Health Diagnosing and Treating PractitionersAudiologists $55,470Chiropractors 52,270Dentists, General 101,780Dietitians and Nutritionists 45,870Medical and Health Service Managers* 80,880Occupational Therapists 63,150Optometrists 101,730Pediatricians, General 165,480Pharmacists 104,840Physical Therapists 65,240Physician Assistants 87,300Psychiatrists 131,700Radiation Therapists 70,170Recreational Therapists 34,300Registered Nurses 56,640Respiratory Therapists 53,580Speech-Language Pathologists 55,860Veterinarians 71,010Health Technologists and TechniciansCardiovascular Technologists and Technicians $49,840Dental Hygienists 65,860Diagnostic Medical Sonographers 59,020Dietetic Technicians 23,370Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics 28,440Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses 37,290Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians 28,320Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists 50,580Medical Records and Health Information Technicians 27,370Nuclear Medicine Technologists 62,410Opticians, Dispensing 30,530Pharmacy Technicians 30,230Radiologic Technologists and Technicians 43,760Respiratory Therapy Technicians 36,910Surgical Technologists 33,370Veterinary Technologists and Technicians 23,670Healthcare Support OccupationsDental Assistants $26,610Home Health Aides 20,490Massage Therapists 27,850Medical Assistants 25,430Medical Transcriptionists 30,750Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants 21,590Occupational Therapist Aides 21,140Occupational Therapist Assistants 43,240Physical Therapist Aides 18,510Physical Therapist Assistants 38,320Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers 19,060

*Managers are classified in another category but included with the professional for convenience.

Trendlines 17jobs.utah.gov/wi

insider news | by kimberley bartel, manager

Areyou thinkingof entering theworkforce for the first time inmany years? Are you tired of

yourjobandneedachange?Haveyoulostyourjobandwanttodosomethingdifferent?Doyouwanttobeinvolvedinthecareerdevelopmentprocesswithyourchild?

If you answered “yes” to any of thesequestions,itwouldbeworthyourtimetovisitUtahFutures.orgwhereyoucan:

Createonlineportfolioswherein-•formationofinterestcanbestoredincluding, exploration tools, per-sonalreflections,plans,andeduca-tionandworkhistories.

Takeassessmentsthatcanhelpyou•identify your interests, aptitudes,skillsandworkpreferences.There-sultsofyourassessmentarelinkedtotrainingandcareerinformation,which canguide you through ca-reerpathways.

Find information about specific•jobs including duties, require-ments, outlook,wages, skills, andpreparation requirements. Youcan see realworld interviews, oc-cupationalvideosand job-specific

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View detailed information about•U.S. colleges and universities in-cluding admission requirements,

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Findmajorsourcesoffinancialaid•for college and specific informa-tiononmorethan$550millioningrantsandscholarships.

Investigatecareersinthemilitary,•military work life, and educationandtrainingopportunities.

UsetheEmployerLocatortosearch•foremployersacrosstheU.S. thataremost likelytohire forspecificoccupations. It provides the em-ployer’s name, address, telephonenumber,andsize.

Assist your child with his/her•career exploration. You and yourchild can access the portfoliohe/she created at school, takeassessments, look at the RealityCheckfeature(howmuchwillhis/herlifestylecost?),andinvestigatedifferentoccupationstogether.

Utahfutures.orgcanhelpUtahcitizensplan and manage their careers fromgradeschooltoretirement.

There’s A New Education and Career Planning System in Town:

UtahFutures.org

Plan and manage your career from grade school to retirement!

18 November/December 2009

What do O. Henry, Benedict Arnold, Sir IsaacNewton,HubertHumphreyandNedFlandershaveincommon?Ifyouguessedthattheywere

allpharmacistsatonetime—you’recorrect!Apharmacist,as defined in the Standard Occupational ClassificationManual,isonewhodispensesdrugsprescribedbyhealthpractitionersandprovidesinformationtopatientsaboutmedicationsandtheiruses.Theymayadvisephysiciansandotherhealthpractitionersontheselection,dosage,interactions,andsideeffectsofmedications.

In early nineteenth century America, pharmacy was atrade,notaprofession,andenteringthefieldwasthroughapprenticeship programs. Pharmacists were experts inchemistryandbotanywithknowledgenotonlyofwine-making, but perfumes, essential oils and soda fountainsyrups.Mosttookprideinproducingtheirownmedicinerather than purchasing them frommanufacturers whowere scarce in number and had a reputation for poorproducts. Many of the current drug companies werefoundedbypharmacistsfromthatera.

Priorto1992,abachelorofscienceinpharmacywasad-equateeducation.Afterthatyear,allU.S.schoolsandcol-legesofpharmacywenttotheDoctorofPharmacyastheonlydegreeoffered.Itrequiressixyearsofstudy:twoin

occupations | by linda marling church, research analyst

Pharmacist: On Duty

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 19

pre-pharmacyandfourinprofessionalpharmacy studies. Topractice in anystate,apharmacistmustbelicensed.

About62percentofpharmacistsprac-tice in community pharmacies, eitherindependently owned or chain drug-stores, groceryordepartment storeormassmerchandisers.About20percentwork in hospitals and the remainderare employed by home healthcare,pharmaceutical manufacturers, healthinsurance companies, public health-care services, college faculty, and themilitary,tonameafew.

Pharmacistisdeemedafive-starjobinUtah, whichmeans that it requires abachelor’sdegreeorhigher,hasastrongemploymentoutlookandhigher-than-averagewages.

Today,pharmacistsareassistedintheirduties by pharmacy technicians andpharmacy aides. Technicians, whoare also licensed and under the di-rect supervisionof apharmacist,maymeasure,mix,count, labelandrecordamounts and dosages ofmedications.Administrative duties include main-taining patients’ records, preparinginsurance claim forms, and taking in-ventories. The duties vary dependingon state rules and regulations. Mostaretrainedonthejobandmoststateshaveputalimitonhowmanytechni-cianscanbeemployedperpharmacist.Thepharmacistisrequiredtocheckthetechnician’sworkbeforeitisdispensed.PharmacytechnicianinUtahisalsoafive-starjob.

Pharmacyaidesusuallyprovideadmin-istrative support, such as answeringphones, cashiering, stocking shelves,etc.Insomestatestechnicianandaidedutiesoverlap;inotherstheyareclear-ly delineated. A high school diplomaandon-the-job training is usually theminimumrequirementinthisfield.InUtah,pharmacyaideisaone-starjob,meaningthatithasalimitedemploy-mentoutlookandlowwages.

Remembertheearliermentionofsodafountain syrups? In the 19th century,itwascommonforpharmaciststosellmineral water, believed to have heal-ing powers. They often mixed bark,nuts,berriesandherbsinittoimprovethetasteandefficacy.Afteritwasdis-covered that mineral water bubbledbecause of carbon dioxide content, amethod was developed to carbonatemineral water. From that beginning,Pepsi Cola®, Vernor’s Ginger Ale®,Coca Cola® andDr. Pepper® were alldevelopedbypharmacists.

AnnualMedian

UtahUnitedStates

Pharmacist $104,840 $106,410

PharmacyTechnician

$30,230 $27,710

PharmacyAide

$20,350 $20,100

Data from Utah Department of Workforce Services, May, 2008

wages

For more information, see:

www.swsbm.co• m

http://jobs.utah.go• v

http://www.swsbm.com/•homepage/

http://jobs.utah.gov/jsp/wi/•utalmis/gotoOccinfo.do

http://jobs.utah.gov/opencms/wi/•pubs/licensedoccup/

There is a strong employment outlook and higher-than-average wages for pharmacists.

our guest | by cheryl s. smith, office of consumer health services

Offeringaffordablehealthinsur-ancebenefitsisanincreasinglydifficultpropositionforUtah’s

smallbusinesses.Smallbusinessesgen-erallypaymorefortheirhealthinsur-ancecoveragewhilehavingfewerplanoptions available. The Utah HealthExchange was created to reverse thatequation.IntheExchange,employerswillbeabletodesignateadefinedcon-tribution—aspecifieddollaramount—tobe contributed toward ahealth in-suranceplanselectedbytheemployee,alsoviatheExchange.Definedcontri-bution arrangements offer a numberof advantages to both employees andemployers.

The Utah Health Exchange givesemployers expanded opportunities.Defined contribution plans simplifythe management of a company’shealth benefit options. By enrollingin a defined contribution plan viathe Exchange, the only decision anemployer has to make is how muchtocontributetowardseachemployee’shealth benefit. Employers will nolongerberesponsibletochoosebetweenmultiple plans, insurance companies,and provider networks. Furthermore,by making a defined contributionratherthanchoosingacompany-widehealthplan,employerscanpredictandcontainhealthbenefitcostsfromyeartoyear.

Adefinedcontributionplanalsoallowsemployerstocontinuetoofferthetaxbenefits of an employer-sponsoredplan.Employeescanpaytheirportionof their health premiumwith pre-taxdollars,which reduces the employee’staxable income and also reduces theemployer’sFICAobligations.

The Exchange will help Utah’s smallbusinesses control their costs whileoffering expanded health coverageoptionstotheiremployees. Enrollinginadefinedcontributionplanviathe

Exchange allows employers to offergreatly expanded health plan optionsto their employees. Employees willuse the Exchange to compare plansand providers and select the optionbesttailoredtotheirindividualneeds;no more one-size-fits-all benefitspackages.

Advantages for employers are equallyas attractive. In defined contributionarrangements, employees, not em-ployers, can compare and select thehealth plan that works best for theirindividual needs and circumstancesviatheExchange.Employeesmayalsopay their premium contribution withpre-taxdollars,thusreducingtheirtaxliability. Certain plans available viathe Exchange may also allow pre-taxcontributions to a health savings ac-count(HSA)whichisthenindividuallyownedbytheemployee.

TheExchangealsoallowsforplanpor-tability, so employees can keep theircoverageeveniftheychangejobs,pro-viding thatbothemployersparticipateinadefinedcontributionplan.

Finally,theExchangeallowsemployeesto aggregate premium contributionsfrom multiple sources. The Exchangefacilitates paying plan premiumsfrom the defined contribution ofthe employer, the contribution ofthe employee, and other possiblecontributionsfromasecondemployer,aspouse’semployer,etc.

Until spring of 2010 the UHE isclosed for new applicants while thesystemisbeingbetatestedtoverifyallcomponentsworkinatimelymannerforthosecompanieswhohavealreadyregistered. Following the completionofthesystemteststhesitewillre-opento new applicants. Small businessescan logon to the systemand requestnotification when the exchangereopensforenrollments.

Utah Health Exchange

Advantages for employees:

Individual control and •

choice

Pay with pre-tax dollars •

Plan portability•

Premium aggregation•

Advantages for employers:

Simplified benefits •

management

Predictable and controllable •

costs

Preservation of tax benefits•

Expanded health care •

coverage options for employees

20 November/December 2009

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 21Trendlines 21

IronCountyisoftenovershadowedbyitslargerandflashierneighborto the south. However, the

county certainly deserves economicattention in its own right. Formostof this decade, Ironhas consistentlyrankedamongUtah’sfastest-growingcounties.

Manufacturing plays a particularlyimportant role in providing jobs inIronCountyandmaintainsthesameshare of total employment as in thestate as a whole. That’s an unusualsituationforanonurbancounty.Thisdependencecanworktothecounty’sdetrimentsinceadownturntypicallyhitsmanufacturinghard.During thecurrent recession, Iron County hashadtodealthedouble-whammyofahousingbubblecollapseandthelossofits“breadandbutter”manufacturingjobsaswell.

SouthernUtahUniversity (the siteofUtah's Shakespearean Festival) playsanimportantroleintheeconomypro-vidingjobs,anabundantstudentlaborsupply,andabackdropforoneofthestate'spremierculturalevents.

For more information on Iron County, go to: http://jobs.utah.gov/jsp/wi/utalmis/gotoCounties.do

Iron County

2008 Nonfarm

JobDistributionby Industry*

*Does NOT include covered agriculture. Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services.

0%

8%

10%

18%

1%

5%

8%

10%

11%

2%

27%

1%

8%

10%

20%

3%

6%

13%

11%

9%

3%

17%

Mining

Construction

Manufacturing

Trade/Trans/Util

Information

Financial Activities

Prof/Bus Services

Ed/Health/Social Svcs.

Leisure/Hospitality

Other Services

Government

IronUtah

county highlight | by lecia parks langston, economist

The Two Gentlemen of VeronaJustin Matthew Gordon (left) as Valentine, Carly Germany as Sylvia, and Timothy Pyles as Turio in the Utah Shakespearean Festival’s 2008 production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. (Photo by Karl Hugh. Copyright Utah

Shakespearean Festival 2008.)

22 November/December 2009

dws news | by lecia parks langston, economist

Finding a job requires a multi-pronged attack. Just one of the tools in your job-search arsenal is the internet. But, perhaps you’re not a web surfer and don’t know

“ftp” from “html.”

Why even bother with the internet?It’s there 24/7.• It’s available anytime: weekends, holidays, the dead of night (when the kids are finally in bed)—anytime.

No Limits.• You can search for jobs in your own hometown or in Cameroon.

Demonstrate Your Leading-Edge Skills.• Finding an opportunity on-line or researching

on the internet before an interview demonstrates you have some

technical skills.

Explore Alternatives •You Haven’t Considered. Not

quite sure what you really want to be “when you grow up?” Self-assessment tools,

occupational exploration, training-program information are all online.

It’s Where the Jobs Are.• Many companies require electronic resumés and find applicants exclusively online.

Getting StartedThe biggest problem with the internet is the vast quantity of information. It may seem like too much information. Keep in mind that the internet is a tool, and like all tools, it is only as good as the skill of the user.

Learning to use the internet productively (like most things) takes time and effort. Don’t be overwhelmed! Ask a friend or librarian (or your kid) for help, if you need it.

Netting a Job on the Internet

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 23

Here are just a few links to get you started on that internet job search:•Utah Dept. of Workforce Services jobs.utah.gov

•Other State Job Bankswww.ajb.org

•Federal Government Jobs jobs.utah.gov/jobs/fedjobs.asp

•State Government Jobsstatejobs.utah.gov

•Career Builderwww.careerbuilder.com

•Hot Jobs (Yahoo) hotjobs.yahoo.com

•Monster monster.com

•Job Centralwww.directemployers.com

•Employment Guidewww.employmentguide.com

•Care Givers Job Clearing Housewww.carecareers.net

•Get a Jobwww.getajob.com

•Job Huntwww.job-hunt.org

•Salt Lake City Help Wantedwww.saltlakecityhelpwanted.com/home/89.htm

•Southern Utah Help Wantedsouthernutahhelpwanted.com/home/15.htm

Before you start your internet job search, you might want to ask yourself a few questions that will help you narrow your employment search.

What kind of work do you want to do?• Come up with general occupations that interest you—not specific job titles. Often you will need to search for job duties rather than job titles—many businesses use their own unique job titles.

Who do you want to work for?• Are you interested only in certain industries? Do you want to work for a large employer? Do you have a specific employer in mind?

Where do you want to work? • Will you move anywhere for the right job or do you want to work in Enterprise, Utah?

Finding the Right SitesThe right site for you will depend on how you answered the questions listed above. For example, large international sites are probably not your choice if you’re looking for a job in rural Utah. Here are some other things to consider about each site:

Is it easy to use?•Do they keep your identity confidential?•Can you search with precision?•Are the job listings dated so you know when they •were added?

How often is it updated?•Who runs the service?•Do you know someone who uses this service?•If they charge a fee, is it worth it?•

Of course, we think the best place to start is the no-charge Utah Department of Workforce Services web site: jobs.utah.gov. Just go to the web site and click on “Find a Job.” You can also use our online directory of Utah businesses to find employers in an industry/area that typically employs your particular occupation: jobs.utah.gov/jsp/firmfind.

24 November/December 2009

the outskirts | by john krantz, economist

Hospitalsrelyuponalargepoolofworkersfromahighlydiversegroupofoccupations.Naturally,with the wide variety of occupations found

within any hospital, wages will vary considerablyfrom worker to worker. To keep things simple, wewillexaminetheaverageannualwageforallhospitalworkerswithingroupsofcountiesduring2008.

Thedistinctionbetweenruralandurbancountiescansometimes be fuzzy. A countymayhave a relativelylarge city in one areawhile the rest of the county isvery sparsely populated. A good example is Vernalin Uintah County. Instead of using the traditionalrural/urbandistinction,thewagesofhospitalworkerswerecalculatedforgroupsofcountiesonthebasisofpopulationdensityorpopulationpersquaremile.

NotallcountiesinUtahhavehospitals.Daggett,Emery,Morgan,Piute,Summit,andWaynecountieswerenotincludedbecausetheydidnothavehospitalsin2008.The23countieswithhospitalswereseparatedintofourgroupsaccordingtopopulationpersquaremile,wherethe most rural counties have the lowest populationdensityandthemosturbancountieshavethehighestpopulationdensity.Asthechartreveals,hospitalwagesprogressivelyincreaseasthepopulationpersquaremileincreases.Theaverageannualhospitalwageis$34,096in themost rural counties,whilehospitalworkers inthe most urban counties receive an average wage of$45,589.

Whyarehospitalwages lower in rural areas? Partofthe explanation may lie with the size of hospitals.Laboreconomistshavelongrecognizedthatworkersinlargerestablishmentstendtoreceivehigherwagesthanworkers in smaller establishments. Only the largesthospitals are able to acquire and efficiently use the

Hospital Wages:A Rural/Urban Comparison

jobs.utah.gov/wi

mostadvancedmedicaltechnologies.Moreover,largehospitalsareinabetterpositiontoeffectivelyutilizeawidearrayofspecialists.Bothofthesefactscanhelpaccountforthedifferencesinwagesbetweenlargeandsmallhospitals.Itshouldn’tbesurprisingthathospitalsinruralcountiestendtobesmallerthanthoseinurbancounties.Measuringthesizeofhospitalsastheaveragenumberofworkersperestablishment,alookatthedatashowsthattheaveragesizeofhospitalsincreasesaswemovefromthemostruraltomosturbancounties.Thetwoupwardtrendsinwagesandestablishmentsizearestatisticallyrelatedandsuggestthattheemployersize/wagerelationshipholdsforhospitalsinUtah.

While it may be unwelcome news to rural hospitalworkers that their wages are lower on average ascompared with urban hospital workers, the rural/urban wage gap may not persist indefinitely. Utahis currently the fastest growing state in the nation,withmanyruralcountiesexhibitinghighpopulationgrowthrates.Asthepopulationincreasesintheseruralcounties,therisingdemandforhospitalservicesshouldtranslateintotheexpansionofexistinghospitalsortheconstructionofnew, larger facilities. If the employersize/wagerelationshipholdstrue,therural/urbanwagegapcanbeexpectedtonarrowinthefuture.

Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services

Trendlines 25

Population Per Square Mile Counties

1 to 10 Beaver, Box Elder, Duchesne, Garfield,

Grand, Juab, Kane, Millard, Rich, San Juan, Tooele, and Uintah

11 to 50 Carbon, Iron, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wasatch

51 to 100 Cache and Washington

101 or more Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, and Weber

Average AnnualHOSPITAL WAGE

$34,096$36,524

$42,502$45,589

1 to 10 11 to 50 51 to 100 101 or more

Empl

oyee

s Pe

r Es

tabl

ishm

ent

149 164 553 632

1 to 10 11 to 50 51 to 100 101 or more

AverageESTABLISHMENT

SIZE

Population per square mile

26 November/December 2009

Child Care Resource & Referral agencies offer the following services to parents:

• free referrals for child care, tailored to meet your family's specific child care needs• free information on child care programs in your area• free information on how to choose quality child care

http://jobs.utah.gov/opencms/occ/occ2/ccrandrcontact.html

Contact your local CCR&R and ask about the Kids In Care Program

Unemployed? Need help with child care payments while job searching?

Bridgerland CCR&R1-800-670-1552435-797-1552

www.usuchild.usu.edu

Metro CCR&R

1-866-438-4847801-355-4847

www.cssutah.orgClick on purple “Childcare Resource

and Referral” link

Northern CCR&R1-888-970-0101801-626-7837

programs.weber.edu/ccrr/

CCR&R1-435-586-87221-800-543-7527

www.childcarehelp.org

MountainlandCCR&R

1-800-952-8220801-863-8631

www.uvu.edu/ccrr

Child Care Resource & ReferralService Delivery Areas

Eastern CCR&R

1-888-637-4786435-613-5619

www.ceu.edu/childcare/

Beaver 4.6 %Box Elder 5.8 %Cache 4.3 %Carbon 7.0 %Daggett 3.3 %

Davis 5.4 %Duchesne 7.2 %Emery 6.3%Garfield 7.2 %Grand 6.8 %

Iron 6.7 %Juab 7.3 %Kane 5.1 %Millard 4.2 %Morgan 5.0 %

Piute 4.6 %Rich 3.7 %Salt Lake 5.9 %San Juan 9.7 %Sanpete 6.1 %

Sevier 5.9 %Summit 5.7 %Tooele 6.4 %Uintah 7.0 %Utah 5.5%

Wasatch 6.5 %Washington 7.7 %Wayne 5.6 %Weber 6.8%

August 2009Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates

Next Issue:Watch for these features in our

September 2009Unemployment Rates

Changes From Last Year

Utah Unemployment Rate 6.2 % Up 2.8 pointsU.S. Unemployment Rate 9.8 % Up 3.6 points

Utah Nonfarm Jobs (000s) 1,210.1 Down 4.1 %U.S. Nonfarm Jobs (000s) 131,306.0 Down 4.2 %

August 2009 Consumer Price Index RatesU.S. Consumer Price Index 215.8 Down 1.5%U.S. Producer Price Index 174.3 Down 4.3%

Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services

justthe facts...

jobs.utah.gov/wi Trendlines 27

rate update | workforce information

Theme:A Look Forward and Back

County Highlight: Garfield

Occupation:Police Officer

Find it atjobs.utah.gov

Presorted StandardUS Postage

PAIDSLC, UT

Permit # 4621

Utah Department of Workforce ServicesWorkforce Development and Information Division140 E. 300 S.Salt Lake City, UT 84111

What do they make?

How much training?

What is the job outlook?