Healthcare tops job growth estimates

Healthcare jobs are expected to be the fastest-growing category through most of the new decade, according to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The occupation projected to add the most jobs through 2018 is registered nurse (582,000), followed by home health aides (461,000). Seventeen of the 30 fastest-growing occupations are related to healthcare or medical research. Employment of physicians and surgeons is projected to grow 22 percent by 2018.

"The growing and aging population will drive overall growth in the demand for physician services, as consumers continue to demand high levels of care using the latest technologies, diagnostic tests, and therapies," according to the bureau, which adds that physician assistants and nurse practitioners increasingly may be used instead of some other practitioners, because they are less costly.