Healthcare, computer sectors to drive Augusta job growth in next decade, expert predicts
Augusta’s healthcare and cybersecurity job sectors are poised for growth over the next decade.
Dr. Simon Medcalfe, a professor with Augusta University’s Hull College of Business, noted as much on Thursday in his 15th Annual Economic Forecast for the Augusta area.
Of the 22 major occupation groups recognized by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Medcalfe ranked the major groups that occupy the top 12 shares of the market in the Augusta area since 2013. The top 12 categories, which Medcalfe said represent 85% of the jobs in the Augusta area, are:
Office and administrative support occupations;
Sales and related occupations;
Transportation and material moving occupations;
Food preparation and serving-related occupations;
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations;
Production occupations;
Construction and extraction occupations;
Educational instruction and library occupations;
Management occupations;
Business and financial operations occupations;
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations; and,
Healthcare support occupations.
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“The reason why I started in 2013 pulling the data was because that’s when the (U.S.) Army Cyber Command announced it was going to move here to Augusta, so it’s a good starting point to see some trends, particularly in mathematical occupations,” Medcalfe said.
Slipping just below Augusta's top 12, at No. 13, is the job category Computer and Mathematical Occupations, which includes cybersecurity workers. In 2013, there were only a few dozen area employees identified as information security analysts. Through 2021, that number boomed.
"You can see they’re growing at a 433% over the past eight years," said Medcalfe. "It started on base, obviously. It wasn’t part of our economy, particularly at 60 people ... in 2013.”
That sector now employs 320 people.
Occupations in healthcare support ,and computer and math categories are projected to see the fastest growth over the next decade, at 17.8% and 15.4%, respectively, according to the US. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Of the top 25 occupations with the fastest projected growth – a rise of at least 10,000 jobs nationally – 12 of those occupations are in healthcare or computers, the BLS projected.
"Overall, we seem to be well-positioned with our two pillars of our community moving forward into the next 10 years,” Medcalfe said.
Healthcare jobs will see the highest local increases from 2013 to 2031 among nurse practitioners (a 46% rise), physician assistants (28%), medical and health services managers (28%), physical therapist assistants (27%) and occupational therapy assistants (25%).
Among area computer occupations, the highest increases from 2013 to 2031 will be among data scientists (36%), information security analysts (35%), web developers (30%) and software developers (26%).
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Healthcare, cyber jobs poised to boom in Augusta in coming years
