HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii labor officials are predicting that teachers and nurses will be in big demand in the future, especially as the state's economy improves and employers add more jobs.
According to a forecast by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, among occupations paying more than $50,000 a year, openings in teaching and nursing are expected to be the most plentiful, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported Sunday.
There should be an average of 330 new jobs in each occupation in the state every year through 2018, the report said.
The news also was good when it came to the salaries that nurses receive. The median annual pay for registered nurses is $84,060 in Hawaii compared with $65,950 nationally, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Local health care industry officials are noting an increase in the number of people seeking training in the health care industry. Enrollment in Hawaii Pacific University's nursing program is up, and the school is seeing an increase in the number of students who are going back to school after having spent some time in the workforce, said Lise Choucair at the college.
"We're seeing a lot of people looking for second careers coming into the program, especially with these hard economic times," Choucair said. "We have a lot of single parents, a lot of mature students. Very few of them are living at home with mom and dad."
Job openings were also expected to be numerous in many lower-paying occupations, such as cashiers and in the food service industry, the report from the department said. Annual wages range from $18,220 to $32,300.
