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New state report details hottest jobs and careers

A sign reading "now hiring" stands outside a Grand Rapids business.
Brett Dahlberg
/
Michigan Public
A sign reading "now hiring" stands outside a Grand Rapids business.

New reports from the state are detailing which Michigan jobs and careers analysts expect will be popular — and pay well — over the coming years.

Some of the high-demand, high-wage jobs expected to grow the most include nurse practitioner, data scientist, and medical and health services manager.

Evan Linskey is a research manager with the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics. He said the Hot 50 Job Outlook can be useful for policymakers, school guidance counselors, and people looking for work.

“It’s really just a way to get the conversation started. Occupation 51 isn’t on the list because we kind of ran out of space on the paper, but [there are] still some great occupations,” Linskey said. “We don’t want to limit folks. But we hope, as individuals kind of see these products, it really gets the wheels turning.”

Michigan releases its Hot 50 Job Outlook and a partnering Career Outlook every other year.

While many of the jobs on the Hot 50 list require at least a bachelor’s degree, the career outlook breaks down work options by the education level needed. Linskey said the diversity of options on the list is encouraging.

“Healthcare, to the medical fields, over to utilities, to construction trades, to some business opportunities, it’s really interesting to see, when we shake out our formula, that a wide variety of jobs really fall into these lists,” Linskey said.

He said the rankings come from a number of sources, including federal data, wage statistics, and past state outlooks.