KC Hall

Kansas City, Kan.— Healthcare jobs are hot and their demand shows no signs of slowing. As the nation's need for healthcare escalates, so do the salaries for many of the most in demand positions in the industry. The 2011 Compensation Data Healthcare survey results found the average base salary for occupational therapists has increased from $65,600 in 2009 to $69,700 in 2011. This represents an increase 6.3 percent.

Physical therapy assistants have seen salary increases of nearly 6 percent since 2009, while EMTs have seen a spike in pay of 5.3 percent. The pay for staff nurses has steadily continued to increase, going from $55,300 in 2009 to $57,600 in 2011. Staff pharmacist salaries have risen from $106,200 to $111,400, which is an increase of 4.9 percent. Medical assistants, though highly in demand, have seen pay increases of less than one percent since 2009.

"While many industries are struggling to bring employment levels back to pre-recession numbers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the number of jobs in the healthcare industry will increase by 22 percent between 2008 and 2018," said Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys, the nation's leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. "With this kind of growth projected within the industry, employers are not only going to have to ensure compensation packages are competitive enough to attract new talent, but also ensure they are competitive enough to hold onto existing talent as well."

Experience is key when it comes to the salary nurses are hired on at, as well as the rate at which those hire-on rates have increased. The average minimum hire-on pay for a staff nurse with five years of experience is $51,300, which is an increase of 1.2 percent since 2009. A nurse with 15 years of experience can expect to be hired on at a minimum of $60,900, up from $59,500 in 2009. The minimum starting salary for a staff nurse with 25 years of experience increased from $62,300 in 2009 to $65,300 in 2011, reflecting an increase of 4.8 percent.

About the Survey
Compensation Data 2011 Healthcare surveyed 250 industry-specific job titles and more than 350 benchmark titles ranging from entry-level to top executives. Data was collected from more than 1,100 healthcare employers reporting on nearly 5,300 locations across the country. The results provide a comprehensive summary of pay data, benefit information and pay practices with an effective date of January 1, 2011.

Compdata Surveys is the nation's leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. Thousands of U.S. organizations provide data each year ensuring the reliability of our results. Compdata Surveys has been providing comprehensive data at affordable prices to organizations from coast to coast since 1988. For further information about their compensation and benefit surveys, contact Michelle Willis at (800) 300-9570.

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